Reports of an alleged fight at a house party in alaska involving sarah palin and members of her family. What police are saying about the incident today, friday, september 12th, 2014. From nbc news, this is today. With matt lauer and savannah guthrie. Live, from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. And good morning. Welcome to today on a friday morning. Im matt lauer, along with al roker, Natalie Morales and Maria Shriver rounding out our homecoming week. How are you doing . I finally feel like a homecoming queen. Never got that feeling before. We often talk about throwback thursday. This is throwback friday for the two of us. Forward, forward. You dont want to look back . I dont want to look back. I want to look forward. We have known each other since we were about 25 years old. Thats right. Not long ago. Thats your story and youre sticking with it. Anyway, were going to have a lot of fun with maria today. Lets get to our top story on a friday morning. Oscar pistorius convicted of culpable homicide by the judge in his trial. But avoiding the more serious charge of murder. Today National Investigative correspondent jeff rossen has covered this case from the very beginning. Jeff, good morning to you. Reporter hey, matt. Good morning to you. Hi drama in court this morning. This case stretching two years, this trial lasted six months, all comes down to this moment. In a nutshell, pistorius, as you mentioned, cleared of murder, the most serious charges. But he has been found guilty of a lesser crime, being negligent. Moments ago, breaking news in this case. Were talking a couple minutes ago. A judge has said he could walk out of court today on bail. Mr. Pistorius, please stand up. Reporter the final verdict. Everyone holding their breath. The bottom line, did Oscar Pistorius intend to kill . Did he murder his girlfriend, model reeva steenkamp. Heres the judge. The accused is found not guilty and is discharged. Instead he is found guilty of culpable homicide. Reporter it is a major victory for the defense and a massive blow to the prosecutor. The judge virtually ripping the states case apart. Evidence led by the state in respect to this count was purely circumstantial. It was not strong circumstantial evidence. Reporter she believes Oscar Pistorius, that he thought there was an intruder in the bathroom, and the judge went even further today, saying pistorius didnt act like a murderer. The conduct of the accused shortly after the incident is inconsistent with the conduct of someone with the intention to commit murder. He acted promptly in seeking help soon after the incident. He shouted for help. He called a friend. He called 911. He called security. Although he could not speak as he was crying. He prayed to god to save the deceased life. Reporter so he has been convicted of culpable homicide which in the u. S. We call Involuntary Manslaughter. Whats the possible sentence here . At the judges discretion. She could sentence him to zero days imprisonment or 15 years. Also, saying he could only leave the house when he goes to work. The effect is, she will consider the level of negligence and the fact that an innocent person lost her life. Reporter important to note here, the prisonses in south africa are 170 overcrowded. Were told many people convicted of this, convicted of culpable homicide dont serve any time. In fact, they usually get suspended sentences, basically youre free to do what you want, unless you get into anymore trouble. Of course, it is unclear what the judge will do for a highprofile defendant like this. Pistorius sentencing happening now. We just learned on october 13th. So just over a month from now well be back to hear if Oscar Pistorius will get any jail time. But matt, he is walking out of here today. His bail extended, even though he has been convicted of culpable homicide. All right, jeff rossen in pretoria, thank you very much. Lisa bloom is todays legal analyst. Good morning to you. Good morning. No premeditated murder, instead culpable homicide. Are you surprised . I am a little bit surprised. I think premeditated murder, thats a tough one and the judge had good reasoning on rejecting the idea he intentionally killed reeva steenkamp. But that middle charge, murder. Thats pretty controversial that she rejected that one. Theres an important legal concept in south africa which i think were going to start hearing a lot about. The judge said he didnt intend to kill her. But under South African law if you intend to kill one person and kill another person, under that legal theory, thats murder. Even if that person you intend to kill is deemed a threat to your safety by you . But the judge didnt find that he really felt this alleged intruder intended to kill him. And therefore, he shot in self defense. I have listened closely to her decision. She didnt say that. I was going to ask about ground for appeal. The prosecution under South African law can appeal this combination if they think the judge didnt get it right. The defense can also appeal and say there shouldnt have even been a conviction of culpable homicide. Thats different. In the u. S. , they cant appeal. I think theyre also going to appeal that a lot of witnesses didnt want to testify because this was televised. The judge is known as being tough when it comes to sentencing. But theres a lot of leeway here. Anything from no time in jail to 15 years. What do you think is going to happen . On october 13th . If were going to make predictions, matt, look at the fact she let him out on bail today. I would say almost in every case in this decision when she had to choose between a conflict from the prosecution and defense, she went with the defense. She clearly leans toward the defense in this case. Im going to expect a low range in sentencing. Anything from 0 to 15. I think its going to be on the low end. Lisa bloom, thank you very much. Lets go over to maria. Now to a massive manhunt in ohio overnight after three inmates escaped from prison. One of them, a 19yearold serving a life sentence for killing three students during a school shooting. Nbcs Kevin Tibbles has the latest. Good morning, kevin. Reporter good morning, maria. You know, the entire state of ohio is waking up with a collective sigh of relief this morning after a young killer who opened fire on his own classmates was recaptured after a daring prison break. I can now confirm that we have heard from officials involved in the search that tj lane is now in custody. Reporter words of relief from police in lima, ohio, early this morning. As they announce that School Shooter tj lane is in custody after escaping from prison thursday night. Lane was one of three inmates who escaped from the allen correctional institution. Police say men who escaped on foot were unarmed, but considered dangerous. Of the reason that he didnt get any farther than he was was because of the immediate perimeter. This is an ongoing investigation. Well give more information as it comes about. Weve got shots fired, multiple gunshots. Reporter on february 27th, 2012, lane opened fire in the Chardon High School cafeteria, unloading at least ten shots from a. 22caliber handgun. Three students died in the shooting. Three others were injured. During his trial, lane was defiant in the courtroom, wearing a tshirt with the word killer scrawled across his chest, smirking at victims families and making obscene gestures. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Police moved quickly overnight to protect the victims families, while School Officials cancelled all friday classes. I would also like to thank the community, the outpouring of support. I know things will get better as they have before. Reporter even with lane back behind bars, it is worth repeating that the schools in chardon, a suburb of cleveland, will remain closed today. Here in lima, official investigation as to how these three men got out of jail will get under way. The Authorities Say that tj lane was picked up no more than 100 yards from the prison behind me here. Back to you guys. Kevin tibbles, thank you so much. Interesting. Really is. Meantime, the Baltimore Ravens were back in action last night, even as the scandal surrounding their former star, ray rice, deepened. Nbcs national correspondent, peter alexander, has the latest on that. Peter, nice to have you in new york. Good morning. The ravens are now two games into their 2014 season. And think about this. If this latest video about rice punching his then fiancee was not released, rice would be back on the field beginning next weekend. Instead he has been kicked out of the nfl indefinitely and the league is under tough new scrutiny. With the ravens returning to action drills it way through the back of the end zone reporter most guys are focused on whats happening off the field and the role of nfl commissioner Roger Goodell. Espn reports ray rice told goodell three months ago that he punched his then fiancee in the face, a claim that contradicts goodells statement this week to cbs news. When we met with ray rice and his representatives, it was ambiguous about what actually happened. Reporter goodell said the latest video released by tmz sports was inconsistent with what rice told him. A source with knowledge of the meeting tells espn rice made it clear he had hit her and told goodell he was sorry and it wouldnt happen again. The nfl Just Announced an independent investigation to be spearheaded by former fbi director, Robert Mueller and art rooney of the Pittsburgh Steelers who stressed our sole motive here is to get the truth. The findings will be made public. The bottom line, there are two owners who have franchised theyre collectively worth over 3 billion a piece together. I think its very important for them to make sure that whatever comes out is accurate, is transparent and rapid. Reporter outside the ravens stadium, a surprising number of female fans were still wearing rice jerseys, including at least one who blamed the victim. She struck him first. And any woman who can hit a man can be hit back. Reporter thursday nights nfl broadcast had a distinctly different feel. Cbs sports, in light of the rice scandal, changed its pregame show, dropping a comedic segment and its opening sequence set to music by rihanna, herself a victim of Domestic Violence. The nfl is also under fire for other Domestic Violence cases. The Carolina Panthers owner, jerry richardson, broke down publicly this week. My stance is not one of indifference. I stand firmly against Domestic Violence. Plain and simple. Reporter critics are furious the panthers, greg hardy, is still being allowed to play, despite being convicted of assaulting and threatening his exgirlfriend in july. Hardy is currently appealing the conviction. So about this investigation, Roger Goodell has promised full cooperation by the nfl and its employees. Investigators and workers at the casino where the video was made dont have to cooperate. And as for goodells status, earlier this week, before the independent investigation was launched, john mara, giants owner, one of the guys overseeing the investigation, released a statement saying the idea that goodells job is in jeopardy is, quote, misguided. Wrong way to go on this one. Yeah, although questions remain about whether he can survive this situation. And actually, weve got carson over in the orange room. Were going to ask kind of a blublt question today, carson. We are, matt. He please, everybody, go to today. C today. Com. There is the survey. Well be specific here. Should Roger Goodell step down, a simple yes or no. Log on now, well have results asap. Matt, back to you. Carson, thank you very much. We were all talking about that sound bite of that woman. That woman that says if she hits a man, she deserves to be hit. Horrific. Complicated subject. Coming up, we talk to robin givens, speaking about her own experience with Domestic Violence in the wake of this scandal. Meantime, natalie has the latest on the president s vow to take down isis. I do. Good morning, everyone. Leaders now from at least ten arab countries have vowed to do their share to help defeat isis. This as new estimates by the cia reveal the terror groups numbers are growing significantly. Nbcs chief war correspondent, richard engel, is in Northern Iraq for us. Richard, good morning. Reporter good morning, natalie. Secretary kerry is in turkey as he is continuing to try and build a coalition against isis. But critics in the region say the u. S. Plan lacks clarity and underestimates the challenge. The cia now estimates isis has 20 to 30,000 fighters controlling an area roughly the size of maryland. But the administration isnt declaring war on isis. Instead, choosing its words very carefully. I believe what we are engaged in is not a fullfledged war like we were before. Its a heightened level of counterterrorism operation. Reporter secretary kerry was in saudi arabia to enlist the help of arab leaders who he says have a vital role in the fight against isis. I think the ingredients are there. Whether it gets mixed correctly and bakes properly oever the course of the next months and year or so, well have to say. But i think and the president believes the ingredients are there. Reporter but baking those ingredients will require a vast amount of work, luck and money. First ingredient, building a rebel syrian army. The fighters will need weapons, intelligence and logistics. Next, rebuilding the iraqi army. After several of its divisions show cowardess and ran from isis. And in Northern Iraq, the u. S. Is also equipping kurdish fighters. The front lines are constantly shifting. Isis militants are less than three miles from here. The plan is for these kurdish fighters to drive them out. But to do that, theyre going to need a lot of help. The kurds have advanced as far as this mountaintop position. But just below, the villages are still held by isis. That kurdish general in charge of the mountaintop position told us that in this area, at least, american air strikes have been precise and effective, because the kurds are passing intelligence to american advisers. The problem is, in other areas, the u. S. Does not have local reliable, on the ground allies. Natalie . Richard engel in erbil, iraq. Thank you. We should mention, chuck todd is going to take a much closer look at the strategy to destroy isis this sunday on meet the press. There are new details this morning on the u. S. Governments controversial surveillance program. Yahoo says the government threatened to fine the company 250,000 a day back in 2008 if it did not comply with demands to go along with the u. S. Surveillance laws. The outlines of yahoo s unsuccessful court fight were released thursday when a federal judge ordered the unsealing of some court documents. The company said it will continue to fight requests that it considers unlawful. Now to a story picking up a lot of steam on the internet about a Wild House Party and a heated brawl reportedly involving the palin family. According to the washington post, bloggers are revealing details of the incident that happened last saturday night at anchorage. Police confirm there was a brawl. Allegedly, it started when traffic palin spotted one of willows ex boyfriends and things got out of control. At one point, sarah palin yelled dont you know who i am. Someone shouted back this isnt some hill billy reality show. No indication of any of the palins facing any charges. A couple of frightening moments in baseball on thursday night as two players in two separate games got hit in the face by a pitch. In milwaukee, miamis Giancarlo Stanton was at the plate. A fastball hit him right in the face there. Hard to watch. The ball was said to be traveling at about 88 miles per hour. Stanton as you see, taken off the field on a stretcher. He suffers facial lacerations, multiple facial fractures and dental damage. Meanwhile, here in new york, it was a yankees designated hitter, Chase Headley who took one in the chin. He would walk off the field under his own power. Frightening moments in baseball there. President obama and the first lady surprised some school kids in washington on thursday by showing up for a charity event. But its not the guest appearance that one little girl apparently was hoping for. Little hard to hear, but take a listen. I really wanted it to be beyonce. I understand. Malia and sasha would feel the same way. You thought we were going to be beyonce. But then i realized it was going to be you. Thats even better. Aww nice pickup. I appreciate you saying that in front of the press. I know its not really true, but thats okay. I would rather see beyonce. Beyonce, the president . You know anyway, she did make up for it. They were filling backpacks for the needy. So what is happening in the world . Kids in seven seconds. Thats great. Making moms and dads proud. What have you got, mr. Roker . Weve got an amazing water rescue. Youve got to see this video. This is hope lake, mississippi, just south of memphis. This car is actually sinking. And theres a First Responder out there getting to the guy. He finally rescues him. He gets out of the car just as it goes under. That is just amazing stuff. Again, First Responders doing great work there. Lets show what weve got happening right now. Heavy rain, showers, thunderstorms from iowa on into nebraska. Pushing as far south as northern texas, san angelo, dallas, texarkana looking at heavy thunderstorms. A lot of rain, anywhere from 1 to 3 inches between brownsville and Corpus Christi. Tropical storm edward not a problem. But weve got what we call an investigation area right now, invet 92l, just off the coast of florida. It may develop into something, but over the weekend, it will spin up and across florida into the gulf, and what its going to do for central and southern florida into the keys, anywhere from 3 to 5 inches of rainfall. Ft. Myers down into the keys. Were going to get to your local fore