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What so I'm not allowed to comment on any of that as you know I'm under a gag AIT which is very unprecedented Donald Trump comes face to face in court with what used to be one of his most trusted AIDS so what did hope Hicks say when she took the stand I'm Gotti Schwarz and this is stay tuned now.

uh the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial wrapped up today with one one of the former president's top AIDS hope Hicks taking the stand as a key witness NBC's Von Hillard leads us off tonight she was one of former president Trump's most trusted advisers.

Hope we want hope but today hope Hicks walked into court as a prosecution witness in her old boss's money scheme trial Mr Trump without smiling stared on first directly at her before turning his attention toward a monitor and papers in front of him Hicks today admitting she was nervous at one point becoming emotional tearing up and needing a break.

Hicks telling prosecutors the release of the axis Hollywood tape weeks before the 2016 election was a crisis I was concerned very concerned she said everyone was just absorbing the shock of it Hicks testified adding its impact on Women Voters was a major concern prosecutors say the release of the tape helped Propel the hush money scheme but.

Mr Trump today arguing none of it is related to the charges he's facing that he allegedly disguised reimbursements to Michael Cohen for hush money payments to Stormy Daniels as legal expenses in his company's internal books Mr Trump who's pleaded not guilty slamming a corrupt ancient and highly political attack that he says has nothing to do with this fake.

Case I'm not allowed to comment on any of that as you know I'm under a gag a I was very interested in what took place today on cross- examination Hicks was asked about a Wall Street Journal report days before the 2016 election on payments allegedly made to Karen McDougall she said Mr Trump did not want the paper delivered to his home that day.

She said he really values Mrs Trump's opinion in saying of Michael Cohen he likes to call himself a fixer it's only because he first broke it that he'd fix it notably Hicks testified she was not engaged in negotiations nor was aware of the hush money payments before they were made and saying she had nothing to do with the Trump organization business.

Records former president Trump left the courthouse tonight to head down to Palm Beach for a major Republican retreat with just 6 months until the general election he's expected to see several of his possible VP picks there Von hilard thanks so much and joining us now in the studio is Sarah aari she is a top criminal trial.

Attorney and author of the book unprecedented which breaks down all the ends in the outs of the cases against the former president Sarah let's just set the history here with hope Hicks and Donald Trump way back in 2016 let's take a quick look she was there the first day and she was fantastic and I just say a couple of.

Words hope you know she's a little shy but that's okay cuz she is really really really talented hope say a couple of words hi Merry Christmas everyone and thank you Donald Trump hope say a couple of words there and and and now she is on the stand so take us through this relationship between hope Hicks and Donald Trump yeah.

And Gotti good to be with you you know she she really is still fantastic she was today you know on the and um this is a a prosecution witness that to me is a chameleon witness she was so good for the prosecution in terms of corroborating what Cohen's going to say sort of um uh confirming what pecker testified to but at the same time when.

Her cross-examination started even before the cross- examination she was really good for Donald Trump and I don't think she was doing it in a biased way I mean she did say that I haven't spoken to him since 2022 we've had no contact but at the same time this this is the guy that made her career nobody knew who H pix was and in the clip that you just.

Posted you just played it it's obvious you know she's young she's inexperienced they were the dynamic duo of the campaign's like media team it was her and Donald Trump so this is not just for some former boss this is like the person that propelled her into her future essentially so they're they're tight it's so wild because when people hear.

This is the prosecution's witness this is you know one of the star Witnesses you think oh this is a witness that's going to testify against the guy on trial here is it that cut and dry it really wasn't there was not some Blockbuster moment where I went ooh like this is really bad for Donald Trump at the same time I think she was tast uh.

Testifying very authentically um she did for the prosecution she did mention how essentially she was collaborating with Cohen that the Access Hollywood tape was absolutely a damaging development for the camp aign she did do those things but at the same time she also said things like um Donald Trump was concerned about Melania finding out.

About you know the Wall Street Journal story for example because he deferred to her sometimes and it it made it sound like it was not for political gain but for personal his personal reputation his family so you know she did there were those moments as well she also called Michael con a liar you know so so at the same time as she corroborated Michael.

Cohen she said he was a liar he told her that you know he paid the money's unbeknownst to Trump out of the goodness of his heart and she's like he's too cheap to do that you know it's out of character for him so she's calling him a liar also prosecution's witness right so what is that I mean this is a case like there's never been a case like this.

Right but what does that look like yeah so we have to remember that we're still at the beginning of this trial she's like witness number five or six of 41 um there are others and you know there are documents and I think she did one thing she did do Gotti is she confirmed how absolutely important that axis Hollywood tape is it's at the Crux of this trial.

And even if we don't believe anybody it's not he said she said it's Donald Trump said on that tape and so you know there's a reason we say lordy there are tapes you know so this is a trial where of course credibility matters criminality matters the sweet deal that pecker got matters but there are so many witnesses and um a lot of them may not.

Even be as close as hope Hicks and then there's documents and so when we when we look at the totality I think that's ultimately where we can really see you know where the prosecution and defense stand and this is to be continued right because next week she's back continu yeah her cross her cross examination continues what are we thinking she she.

May testify to next week I mean I I expect more of the same I expect that the defense is going to elicit from her that she broke down when she was asked about you know how important Donald Trump was to her um right right she she's cry she was crying and and and and it showed how important and significant um he has been his family has been and.

So I think we're going to hear more about turning this into a personal reputation issue as opposed to a political gain issue um things like she could a lot of what she said today probably more of that that you know um uh this was not this hush money thing was something she found out about later it was not something that was schemed.

And planned um again distancing Donald Trump from uh the payment essentially so I think it's going to be a lot more of what started today but it really started and ended uh pretty strong today in her cross Lisa we appreciate your perspective so much thank you for being here thanks good to be with you sure and we are learning more about The.

Disappearance of two Australian brothers and a San Diego man Jake and Callum Robinson along with their friend Carter Road had been missing since Saturday while on a surfing trip to the Baja California area and now the FBI is saying that three people were just found dead in that same area but they've refused to talk about specifics their.

Family though says that the group was supposed to check into an Airbnb in the nearby city of Ros Rosarito but they never showed up and NBC's Blain Alexander has more about what new details we are learning from officials well Gotti This truly is a story that is getting so much attention for a number of reasons in fact we know.

That it's already garnering at least officials looking into this across three different countries two continents officials there in Mexico say that they have been in touch with both American officials and Australian officials as they try and figure out exactly what is going on here and it's another thing is that this area of Mexico B Baja.

California Mexico right across the border from San Diego has become very popular among Surfers and so that's why so many especially in the surfing Community have really been speaking up on social media and hopes of trying to bring some sort of resolution here and find these three men this so one thing that we are learning is the timeline.

About this now according to the mother of the two Australian Brothers they were last heard from on April 27th that was last Saturday and then they were reported missing 2 days later now officials there in Mexico say that they actually searched the area where these three men were last believed to have been seen they found a number of pieces.

Of evidence including a white pickup truck in all of this and they have taken three people in at least uh for questioning people that they believe may have been involved either directly or indirectly with The Disappearance there now certainly there are a number of questions to be answered in all of this but we're also hearing from the mother.

Of those two brothers one of whom was a professional lacrosse player both of them Avid Surfers uh she basically says that she the only thing that brings her Comfort is that they were together they were doing what they loved I'll read you a snippet of the statement she basically says Callum and Jake are beautiful human beings we love them so much and this.

Breaks our heart our only only comfort right now is that they were together doing something that they passionately love Gotti thank you and an American Tourist waiting months to learn his fate now has to wait even longer after he says he accidentally brought ammo into Turks and caos NBC Sam Brock has the.

Latest Gotti good evening you know this was a tough day for Brian hgich and his family in court not exactly clear what everyone should have been expecting but we did know there was this mandatory minimum jail sentence of 12 Years years behind bars according to the Firearms law from 2022 in Turks and cosos but still you had all these examples of.

Americans previously who had either been fined or one American who faced an 8mon sentence and so that's sort of where we started in terms of expectations but once you got inside the courtroom today the prosecutors were asking for a minimum nothing less than 12 years behind bars now the backstory here is that it's a law that was passed a couple.

Of years ago with gang violence in mind and this wave of weapons coming in from places like Haiti and even the United States but it was not meant to sweep up dads from Pennsylvania and Oklahoma who accidentally took ammunition with them in their bags and ended up on the shores of Turks and Kos that's actually what happened here now Brian hgich and his.

Attorneys were arguing look there's a lot of exceptional circumstances here he's a model father and citizen he has no criminal record he owned right away the fact that there was ammunition he has two kids who are six and four respectively he's got a mom who has Parkinson's disease who needs his help if there was ever a time for exceptional.

Circum ances this is it and the prosecutor would have none of it I did ask a family spokesperson for the heges you know what does it mean what are the stakes here for his children and here's what he told me they will miss their kids growing up that's that that is the Highlight yes there's Financial pressure there's all.

Employment pressure there's all kinds of other pressures it's pretty obvious from the record at the moment that their kids need their dads you know to hear um about the impact of particularly on on on Brian and Ashley's daughter has been um profound for me now that spokesperson did tell me he was really impressed by the judge and her demeanor asking really.

Intelligent questions seemed to be very balanced he said she was calling balls and Strikes so it's not clear to him at all what direction she's leaning here one way or the other even though there is an immense amount of public pressure for her to come down hard because of these previous cases against Americans and the fact that the Attorney General.

Had gone to the court of appeals in Turks and caos and said can you please clarify this law and the court said it should come with a mandatory jail sentence of any kind but if there's exceptional circumstances then you can go lower than 12 but either way a potentially harsh punishment and it is super relevant in the sense that you.

Have several other men who are detained including Ryan Watson he's the guy from Oklahoma City also with two kids they're all watching this so closely because they think however the sentence plays out for Hagrid likely is how it's going to work for these other Fathers as well and the potential for Devastation absolutely exists that's the very latest.

Scotty let me send it back to you Sam Brock thank you hey welcome back and here are some of the other headlines we're watching tonight today the justice department released an indictment against Texas representative Henry quar and his wife amilda charging the pair with bribery and moneya laundering now the indictment says the couple allegedly.

Accepted over a half a million dollars in bribes from two foreign countries in exchange for quar influencing legislative activity he has denied any wrongdoing saying he still plans to run for re-election an officials say a fifth body has been recovered from a vehicle in that aftermath of the Baltimore bridge collapse the body of 49-year-old.

Miguel Gonzalez was found on Wednesday one person Jose minor Lopez remains missing in a hearing for country music star Morgan whan has been postponed until August he's accused of throwing a chair from the rooftop of a bar and nearly hitting two police officers Wen didn't show up for the hearing that took place earlier today but his lawyers.

Promised he'd be there in August and new numbers from the labor department show that the US economy added 175,000 jobs in April and the unemployment rate came in at about 4% it's a little below what experts predicted but they say it's nothing to worry about and Microsoft is Banning police departments from using its AI for.

Facial recognition now the news comes a week after a company that makes Tech products for law enforcement announced a product that uses open AI models to summarize audio from body camps it's unclear whether the new rule is in response to that product launch and it's been a very tense week of standoffs between protesters and.

Police on college campuses Nationwide with more than 2,000 arrests and dozens of encampments cleared up and it doesn't seem to be over yet in New York City officers showed up this morning at New York University in the new school 43 people were arrested at the new school while 13 were arrested at NYU and over at Columbia Unity.

Protesters there are still putting the pressure on campus administrators overnight showing up to the home of the University's president now that comes as we are learning an NYPD officer accidentally fired a gun inside Colombia's Hamilton Hall during that dramatic raid we saw play out live on air when police entered.

The building to arrest protesters bar ated inside luckily no one was hurt back here on the West Coast this is the extensive damage left behind at Portland State University's library after protesters barricaded themselves inside earlier this week at least 30 people were arrested there and over at UCLA a much calmer scene today on campus.

Compared to the chaos that broke out overnight yesterday as well as the day before more than 200 people were arrested during the recent standoff with police but despite the threat of arrests Pro Palestinian protest continue to pop up across the country calling for schools to support a ceasefire in Gaza and to divest from Israel NBC News.

Correspondent Steve Patterson joins us now from UCLA Steve what's the vibe today on campus and what are you hearing from protesters about what they're planning on doing next Gotti the swans song goes we will be back we will be stronger you can't ignore us any longer that is what we heard In Pockets sort of this as this.

Haunting chant as police CL cled in on the final remnant of this protest right before police really tore this encampment entirely down leaving nothing but again a college quad behind me protesters say that this is not over until their demands are met primarily the divestment from Israel in all ways that affects the war that's happening in.

Gaza they will continue to protest now obviously there is no sign of that today it has been very peaceful the loudest thing I've heard really is birds chirping there's a large police presence that remains here everything has been cleaned up uh that is because though protesters say is that they're still licking their wounds and they weren't.

Afraid to say that uh many of them were arrested the last count we heard it was over 200 somewhere maybe around 210 it maybe even more than that when the final count comes in there were many many many arrests and many protesters say that they were they were injured they were badly injured police have told us that what they did was to slowly go in so.

They could protect the safety not only of the officers not only of the students on campus but also the protesters that were that were peacefully protesting on the scene even if they were there beyond the unlawful designation that was given by the university the protesters I've spoken to and I have now spoken to several post this police action have.

Sang a different tune one that they really faced uh heroing action by some of the officers that were there I spoke to one student student protester her name was Blair she says she was beaten over and over and over again by a police baton before being detained and arrested but she says that they will absolutely be back here's what she told me listen.

To this I think a lot of that determines how the university responds how the university responds to um our demands and whether they do the right thing and divest completely and totally after suffering such a great shame if there is no plan to divest do you think you'll be.

Back I can't put my body on the line again but I'm going to be here fully to support people who will Blair says she had bruised ribs after again she was repeatedly struck by a police baton the university says they had to take this action declaring it unlawful because they were worried about the safety of the students particularly.

After that counter-protester horrific night that saw 15 people get injured uh and this is something that they're going to look into as part of a full-throated investigation got him and Steve police in New York and in other places have been saying that uh there have been outside agitators we keep hearing that over and over again.

New York is saying that half of those arrested at some protests there were not affiliated with the schools is that something that's happening at other protests as well or is that kind of rhetoric at this point you know speaking to um obviously people that have law enforcement sources that deal with this on a daily basis.

That are talk uh to some of these uh responding agencies that is certainly seems to be the case however we have never gotten an official count from the University from people that have been on scene as far as law enforcement that have looked at particularly this encampment and this protest there's never been a.

Dissemination of numbers on who is a student who is a faculty member who is a staff member who is a graduate and who is somebody that is from the outside Community or possibly an outside disassociated group that many would consider uh an outside agitator we just don't know the numbers particularly when it comes to this protest but law.

Enforcement has said that absolutely there have been influences that are almost permeating through many of these protests that we've seen across the country we just don't know what the breakdown looks like and if that is even identifiable based upon what we've seen here at UCLA Gotti Steve Patterson reporting tonight in front of a a pretty.

Immaculate looking quad there which is crazy given what we saw earlier this week Steve thanks Ben one of the biggest demands of protesters Across the Nation is divestment you might have heard those chants and seen those signs divest is front and center so what does it mean well simply it means that student.

Protesters want their schools to drop and disclose any Investments they have in companies doing business in Israel but the funding in question here is billions making this a far more complicated situation than it may seem let's bring in NBC's Brian Chung who is at the big board to break it off down for us Brian so what are protesters.

Demanding when it comes to divesting from Israel and what are colleges specifically invested in that's causing this outcry yeah we were just disclosing on that graphic just now the BDS aspect of this movement this is the strategy among Pro Palestinian protesters to demand a boycott divestment and sanctioning of any businesses that have.

Ties to Israel now the dest part is the big Focus for students on college campuses because in many cases they paying tuition into a university that has a millions billions of dollars in some cases in endowments which they use to invest to grow the funds so that they can pay out scholarships but again there's not a lot of transparency into.

What those Investments are so let me explain to you very briefly about where we get disclosures from these schools about where they're squirreling away the money that is given to them in those donations so it comes in the form of a form 990 which comes from the IRS that's a yearly filing that tells you broadly speaking what types of stocks what types.

Of bonds are being invested in but again it's it's very broad but you also have the form 13f from the SEC and that is a form that's filed quarterly this could give you stock by stock company by company disclosures on where the Investments are being made but the problem these 13fs only cover certain portions of the endowment so it's not.

All that Illuminating which means it's really on a voluntary basis that the uh schools will be able to report what they have in those endowments which means that really there's a lot of blind spots when it comes to exactly where these Investments are Gotti and have any colle has agreed to divest or have those conversations at.

Least well there have been conversations on some college campuses when you look at Brown University there's been an agreement but again the challenge with divesting is that we don't even know how much investment there is into businesses with ties to Israel and if I may I just want to give you one example at Columbia University really the epicenter of all.

Of this when we're talking about the pot of money that they have this is a big university with a lot of donors they have an endowment fund that is $ 13.6 billion with a B but when you look at the forms like I just outlined that 13f from the SEC it discloses $68 Million by a stock by stock uh basis which means that you really only have.

Any sort of transparency into 0.5% of the overall endowment the other 99.5% you just don't know what's in there that's what makes the divestment part of this so challenging you need the disclosures first uh your mouth is always astounding question for me is why don't colleges just share more of their finances especially the ones that are.

Public universities yeah well in the conversations that I've had with current and also former uh managers of some of these endowments they say look first off there's a fiduciary responsibility if they disclose the entire portfolio would that give away their investment strategy so the university across the street can just copy them but then you also have.

The protection of the identities of money managers this is a big one a lot of the hedge funds and the asset managers that are hired by universities to actually do the investing they don't want to be known they don't want their Client List to be public so that side of things is very much an interest of both the university and the money managers to.

Remain anonymous but then also there's a lack of requirements again as I just outlined really only those forms the IRS is 990 and the sec's 13f that's the only required disclosure where we can see any sort of transparency into what they're invested in could that change with the movement remains to be seen yeah that that 05 or that 05% just seems uh very.

Dark at this point Brian Chong thanks so much now let's bring in Todd wolson he's a professor of Journalism and media studies at Rutgers University Rutgers is one of the universities where protesters peacefully removed their encampment after what seemed to be very productive discussions with their Administration so we are trying to figure out what went.

Right there Professor how did ruter manage to do all this especially when a wave of violence seems to be spreading Nationwide you know I think there's a bunch of things in play there um first and foremost the students started their encampment on on Monday um and they took it down peacefully on Thursday at around 4: I.

Don't think I think negotiations began with the University at large on Wednesday um and some of the things I think that went right I think the students were very cleare eyed about what they could win and how to win it and there was really good leadership there and really thoughtful um I think the administration also wanted to find a.

Solution and then the last thing I'm the president of the faculty Union there we represent about 5,000 workers at the University and we were out with our students the entire time in fact the on Thursday the there was a timeline and at 4:00 if the students had not voted to agree to the to the negotiated deal the police would come and we had about four.

200 members that said that we would support the students right to continue the protest and I think there was just a lot of support from a lot of different parts of the community and the administration also was quite thoughtful and negotiated in good faith in this moment so I feel really good about uh the the settlement and and the next.

Steps and at the center of so much of this is divestment it's such a big demand uh has there been a reluctance at ruter to kind of open up all the books and talk about the money because that that is kind of at the heart of all of this well I can say as the president of the Union I have to negotiate a contract last year we have a devil of a time.

Getting the university to be straight with us about its finances and and I think the same is going on with the students what the students won is a process and so you know it's going to be they're going to have to fight to hold the university accountable and the faculty Union will support them because the university has agreed to this but.

Basically what they've agreed to around divestment is the university has a the Board of Governors runs the university and the Board of Governors has a committee on investments that committee on investments had already as a contingency plan looked into what the investment would look like and they now have uh invited five students from the.

Encampment to join that committee and create a process of figuring this out moving forward so it's good this is dialogue I think the students will have a role in thinking about this will there be agreement in that process I'm sure there'll be there'll be hurdles to move through but there that both parties really wanted to figure out a way.

Forward and and that's what's important and I think that we will see some element of divestment will we see the entire divestment the students began their demand with I don't know that remains to be seen um and and but I think both parties are committed to the to these Talks by no means a conclusion but.

Definitely dialogue thank you so much Professor thanks for having me sure this weekend marks the 54th anniversary of the Kint State shootings a day etched in history when a student protest against the Vietnam War met a very violent in back then tensions were also flaring at college campuses across the country culminating in the now Infamous.

Confrontation between the Ohio National Guard and Kent State students that left four students dead the United States should withdraw its troops from Vietnam people are dying in Cambodia and Vietnam and you're tired from work Nixon we ain't going to work on your farm no more I have concluded that the time has.

Come for Action the year was 1970 President Nixon had just announced a new offensive in Vietnam and at hint State students protesting the war were enraged the school's Roc building was set on fire and protesters found themselves face Toof face with the Ohio National Guard called in to keep the peace then May 4th tensions reached a.

Boiling point students clashing with Guardsmen the general ordering soldiers to Lock and Load their weapons a large crowd forced soldiers to retreat then some Guardsmen opened fire I was uh fairly close to the National Guardsman when they turned and fired Joe was a Kent State junr at the time I was in a bit of shock I never.

Thought they'd fire I never thought there was a reason to fire but clearly they did I didn't know how many other people were hit at that point at that moment less than 100 ft away was freshman Dean Kaylor I was uh surrounded by a group of students who were down looking at me and one guy came to me and said don't move he had a bullet lodged.

In his spine seemed like it took forever it took more than 10 minutes for the uh the ambulance uh to get there Dean would never walk again and four of his classmates died that day what happened in Ohio was a national shock the death of four young people has numbed all of us half a century later Dean and Joe find themselves watching and worried.

About a new generation of Campus movements today I am concerned that this will escalate to the point uh that it did in 1970 cheered by students taking this action I just hope they understand what they're getting themselves into while the tragedy at kin State still Echoes as a cautionary lesson for law enforcement Joe and Dean want young.

People today to remember this advice you have to know what the outcomes could potentially be and be prepared for him know what you're protesting know why you were protesting don't be afraid of the consequences what we learn from history I hope so coming up severe flooding in Texas is forcing mandatory evacuations.

And now experts say the worst is yet to come details are straight ahead but first you got to see this see a little girl in East Hartford Connecticut was playing in the middle of a busy street and was about to run into an intersection when she was saved by a couple of Heroes now two Barbers saw the girl through their shot window and.

Immediately ran out to grab her before she would have been struck by a truck kid is okay and The Barbers returned to her mom at a bus stop nearby very lucky those guys were there at the right place at the right time to save the day we'll be right back hey welcome back severe flooding.

Continues in Texas we're going to head there in just a second but first here are some of the stories happening out west that we're following right now we are following this disturbing report in Las Vegas a murder suspect there is accused of eating part of his victim's face now this happened on Sunday near the Vegas Strip when police say Colin.

Czech who's apparently homeless attacked another man Czech is accused of eating parts of his face after killing him and in Portland 15 police cars have been burned at a training facility it happened overnight when police and fire Crews were called to put out those fires no one was hurt and a nearby building wasn't damaged but it is unclear exactly.

Who was behind that arson and one of those zebras that went missing in Washington well they're actually still on the loose it's been spotted a bunch of times over the last few days but authorities have not been able to track it down it escaped with three others on Sunday and is still the only one right now out on the run and hopefully having.

A little bit of fun and tonight Millions across Texas are hunkering down bracing for another night of severe weather the national weather service confirmed at least one tornado in Texas earlier today making nine straight great days of tornado activity massive Twisters like this one seen near Hol Texas hit the state yesterday and if that wasn't.

Enough officials are also preparing for hey heavy flooding this weekend telling people if they have not evacuated yet they got to be ready to stay where they are for up to three days NBC News correspondent Kathy park has more tonight millions in Texas in the crosshairs of catastrophic flooding and dangerous tornadoes oh my gosh in the.

Past last 24 hours dramatic lightning strikes like this one caught on camera oh my God he's going in the water oh my God oh my God and nearly a foot of rain in the Houston area stranding drivers even washing away roads and part of this Nursery it's hard to tell exactly what how much we've lost but it'll be estimated hundreds of thousands of.

Dollars of product washed away in Harris County officials declaring a disaster and urging residents to evacuate Thursday night or prepare to stay for days this threat is ongoing and it's going to get worse it is not your typical River flood dozens have been rescued so far and one family escaped by swimming to safety as a Rushing Waters.

Filled their home when I seen it lift our refrigerator up and I could sit on it and Float around my house like a subboard that's when I told her this was time to go 14 rivers are now at Major flood stage including the San jinto so if you open your front door yeah I mean the river is right there it is give themely Lowry says she's still repairing.

The damage from 2017 brought on by Hurricane Harvey how tough is it to see this type of damage again I'm just Crest stopping I I don't know if we can get back up again I really don't a lot of now she and so many others are reliving the nightmare as a braids for more severe weather expected to last through the weekend Kathy Park NBC News Conroe.

Texas Kathy thank you and tonight tensions are rising in a rural part of California just outside of the Bay Area because Tech entrepreneurs have a plan to build a new city from the ground up and this week they collected 20,000 signatures to put that plan on the ballot in November but a lot of people who live nearby are.

Not fans some even saying they're being misled by developers NBC's elwin Lopez has the story right now a major controversy hitting a fever pitch over this land in Northern California a group of developers called California forever have bold plans to turn this into the country's newest City this week.

Announcing they collected over 20,000 signatures to put the project on the ballot in November and let voters decide if it should move forward but some locals have been questioning the ways in which petitioners gathered those signatures one person saying on Facebook that she was asked to sign a petition about Healthcare but claiming that among.

The petition she was handed and on on the same clipboard was one for the group trying to build the city California forever stated in part that opponents have quote been spreading misinformation regarding the petition and are quote attempting to create confusion we spoke with the Solano County registar and they confirmed all of the petitions are.

Legitimate we are a right to farm County those against the development are deeply concerned about the plan to build a brand new city with room for more than 400,000 people that's basically the population of of Miami or Minneapolis they don't want to listen to our concerns Tech founder Yan traic is spearheading the project backed by a.

Group of Silicone Valley investors land where for years and years nothing much has been able to grow until now we used to build new cities all the time but we haven't done it in 50 years and so we knew that this would be controversial The Proposal is that this giant City would be built from the ground up in a rural area with walkable neighborhoods.

Public transportation sustainable homes and California forever has pledged to create about 15,000 new jobs in sectors like manufacturing and renewable energy I am super excited it's a major departure from Car- centered cities growing in spots like Orlando or Houston but the way they've gone about it has ruffled feathers from 2017 to 2023.

California forever operated as a company called flanner Associates buying up $800 million worth of land in Solano County before ever revealing its plans then flanner sued a group of land owners to the tune of $550 million accusing them of conspiring to drive up the price of land the lawsuit is still playing out in the eastern district of California and.

Solano County leaders are pushing back with other concerns over zoning power and water rights what do we need to do in the next 30 years is it this project stie Wilson is part of a new Coalition called Solano together she will the Project's timeline is unrealistic can we work together to make make sure that we we are building on our existing cities.

And investing in our communities but traic says it will solve the need for more housing and jobs he also promises to invest in surrounding areas we have this amazing economic engine that produces all of these Innovations and we have been slowing it down by our inability to create room for growth and homes that people can afford there's so.

Many pieces that we agree on that there is a for housing there is a need for good jobs um but that is not what's on the ballot both sides agree something has to change but whether that means solely reinvesting in existing communities or starting from scratch that is all up to the people of Solano County elwin Lopez NBC News Los Angeles.

And still to come the race back up to the Moon is heating up we're going to tell you the latest as China launches an unprecedented lunar Mission stay tuned hey welcome back China is blasting off for The Far Side of the Moon that story in just a moment but first let's take a quick look around the world there's flooding in parts of Brazil and it is.

Its worst it's been in 80 years torrential rains there have hit the area over the last several days and yesterday a local Dam collapsed putting several cities completely underwat so far nearly 40 people have been killed and another 70 are missing meteorologists are warning that more rain is probably on the way in the coming days too and a.

Chemical fire leaves a toxic cloud hanging over Germany's capital of Berlin now that fire broke out at a metal Factory earlier today people living nearby were told to close their windows and doors to protect themselves against the smoke at one time more than 200 firefighters were on scene so far there have been no reports of anyone being.

Hurt and some members of the Russian military have arrived at an air base in ner where US troops are still living now defense secretary Lloyd Austin says the Russians are in a separate compound and don't have access to US forces or equipment last month the US agreed to withdraw its forces from nir the relationship between the two countries.

Started to fall apart following a military coup last year that new military government has expressed its support for Russian leader Vladimir Putin and us and Saudi officials look like they are close to agreeing on a security pack but details are still unknown apparently it's an attempt to get uh us-led uh attempt to reshape the.

Region back on track since the deadly Hamas attack on October 7th and the pressure to reach a permanent ceasefire is growing turkey announcing today that it will not resume trade with Israel until a ceasefire is agreed upon and a trade surplus that is worth $7 billion a year is at stake right now there's a deal on the table with both Israel and.

Hamas seriously considering all while Israel has repeatedly warned that it will be invading Rafa the Border Town near Egypt where millions of Palestinians are currently Sheltering and NBC's raap Sanchez has the very latest the world has been waiting for days to see if this latest round of ceasefire negotiations will actually.

Lead to a deal NBC News has now confirmed from a source familiar with the situation that the CIA director Bill Burns has returned to the Middle East in the hope of getting this deal Over The Line here's the state of play Israel has been waiting for several days now for Hamas to give its formal response to the.

Current ceasefire proposal reminder that proposal would see Hamas release 33 hostages from the so-called humanitarian category it's women it's children it's the elderly people with serious medical conditions in return Israel would agree to a 40-day ceasefire and the release of potentially thousands of Palestinian prisoners now yet yesterday Israel.

Thought Hamas was gearing up to give a definitive answer either yes or no to this deal instead Hamas said it wants to keep talking it says it is sending negotiators back to Cairo but at this point we do not know when they will give that answer the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Israel has set a deadline that it is telling Hamas that it has one.

Week to give an answer and agree to this hostage or else Israeli forces are going to press ahead with an attack on the southern city of Rafa now the US and Israel have fundamental disagreements about that plan the US believes it would be a disaster not just from the perspective of Civilian casualties but also the potential to disrupt the flow.

Of humanitarian Aid into Gaza Israel says it has no choice but to go into Rafa to destroy the remaining Hamas battalions there and over the last couple of days is Israel has put out images of its tanks massing on the Gaza border from two separate divisions in apparent preparation to move into Rafa it is not clear whether this may be a.

Negotiating tactic Netanyahu trying to put more pressure on Hamas saying the clock is ticking down until this Rafa Invasion Netanyahu is also under intense pressure himself from the far right of his own cabinet who is saying that the deal on the table is a bad one Israel should reject it and should instead focus on pursuing its military campaign.

Against Hamas in Rafa but these are critical days critical hours right now and there is a feeling that this may be the last best chance to get a ceasefire deal in place and that if there is no agreement we may see Israeli forces heading into Rafa back to you RF Sanchez thank you now China is taking a major step towards.

Space today in that space race launching a lunar probe to The Far Side of the Moon and this is a big deal because all of a sudden it's China not Russia that's becoming the other major space fairing player on this planet and while this mission is about sending that probe to collect some samples it's also a prequel to two other missions that will send.

Robots to scout for a potential Chinese moon base and guess who got to watch today's launch our friend Janice Macky fryer who has more on what this Mission means we're roughly a mile and a half from the launch site which you can't see because of rain and fog but you could feel that liftoff this lunar lander Mission expected to last 53 days and if.

It's successful would be a first for any country chongi 6 is headed to The Far Side of the Moon to collect samples of rock and debris from a region never explored before those samples roughly 5 lounds would be turn to Earth and according to Chinese space officials would be accessible to most other countries for research this marks a.

Major milestone for China's ambitious space program and its goal of putting Chinese astronauts on the Moon by 2030 but it's also posing a concern for us officials the head of us space command recently saying that China's program is advancing at quote breathtaking speed he says the worry is geopolitical competition uh between rival blocks to.

Dominate not only the moon but the space between it and Earth but for most people here in China this launch was a national event there are literally thousands of space tourists who have come here to hen Island to witness it and atmosphere like a festival or a carnival with flags and souvenirs uh took over at beaches and on rooftops anywhere that could offer a.

View of this launch site for people to look to the sky and Beyond I always want to look to this guy thanks so much Janice before we go it is time for the future of everything and tonight we are talking about AI driven fighter jets and also speaking of futuristic aircrafts check this out the Smithsonian yes the Smithsonian unveiled a Boeing.

CV2 cargo air vehicle decked out to look like a Star Wars X-Wing Fighter it's all in honor of May 4th tomorrow so May the 4th be with you we'll be right back and tonight in the future of everything a lot of us might be okay with the idea of self-driving cars or or maybe I don't know AI helping with some homework but.

How do we feel about an AI powered fighter jet tonight the US Air Force is taking us on a historic ride NBC National Security and Pentagon correspondent Courtney QB has this wild story this is a rare look at the future of the US Air Force in combat it's called Vista an unmanned.

Fighter jet piloted by artificial intelligence flying head-to-head in a dog fight with a Mann F-16 even outperforming the human pilot defense officials say the US is the only military in the world with this technology successfully flying a jet with artificial intelligence and this is the first time cameras have been allowed.

To see it up till now there has not been a pathway for machine learning agents to control uh the you know flight critical systems of an aircraft on Thursday the Air Force secretary made an unannounced trip to Edwards Air Force Base suiting up and going for a ride in a mocked dog fight flying nearly the speed of sound separated by just 1,000.

Ft from the manned fighter jet he says the technology still needs work we still got a ways to go with it but making good progress but some test pilots aren't sure this artificial intelligence this robot and they're they're so new and we don't really understand fully how they work so you don't trust the aircraft to be flown.

By AI at this point uh no not really like drones they could fly ahead of manned aircraft during combat conducting strikes too dangerous for human Pilots but unlike drones the computer will be in charge not an operator thousands of miles away and even though humans will still be involved in making key decisions this raises serious questions.

Is that a possibility really this kind of Technology going rogue I think it's too early to say it is or it isn't do you ever see a a point of fully autonomous weapons so US Air Force aircraft that are fully autonomous weapons we're not going to unleash Killer Robots on the battlefield to kill anything they want that's not going to.

Happen we're going to make sure that we comply with the laws of war Kendall says the future is not far away AI could be in cockpits in the next few years computers flying missions once considered too complicated for anything but the human mind soon changing the face of combat Aviation Courtney QB NBC News Edwards Air Force Base that gives a.

Whole new meaning to the term autopilot finally we want to send you into the weekend with 60 seconds of Joy tonight we want you to meet a 100-year-old veteran who got an honor that was decades in the making Mauricio Casas from WRC has more on this sweet surprise Jack Milton's lived an extraordinary life life a decorated.

Pilot with a 31-year military career he served in World War II Korea and Vietnam but there was one thing that's always eluded him he never got to Dawn the cap and gown and get his diploma in 1968 since he was in Vietnam something the University of Maryland Global Campus had to fix for one of its most distinguished alums I've thought about it many times.

That I was unable to attend my ceremony after all all that hard work and this more than makes up for it he originally thought the school was hosting a luncheon to celebrate his 100th birthday a milestone he reached back in August the surprise was the icing on the cake I feel like this is a finale of a long journey in.

Education and again I keep using the word appreciative but I can't think of any other word congratulations John does it for us this week I'm Gotti Schwarz we'll see you right here back then on Monday but until then stay tuned now thanks for watching stay updated.

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