Morning Knowledge NOW Beefy Broadcast – April 15

right now on morning news now a potential boiling point in the Middle East this morning the world bracing for what could come next following Iran's first ever direct assault on Israel in the wake of a deadly attack on a consulate in Syria earlier this month this attack is just another.

Example of how they operate for years and years spreading Havoc Terror instability all over the world now as Israel weighs a possible Counterattack new concern that the US will soon be dragged into a wider War we'll bring you the latest also this morning history in a New York City courtroom with Donald Trump's hush manyy.

Trial and the first ever criminal trial involving a former president set to get underway when I walk into that courtroom I know I will have the love of 200 million Americans behind me as you can see a lot to get to this morning we hope you had a good weekend thanks for joining us this Monday I'm Savannah sers and I'm Joe frier from New.

York to the Middle East in Washington we have teams standing by to cover both of these major stories we begin with the latest on Iran's weekend aerial assault on Israel with NBC News correspondent Kelly Koba in London and NBC News White House correspondent Monica Alba good morning to both of you so Monica an official told nbcu news that the US is.

Not going to take part in an offensive Counterattack against Iran and that President Biden is urging prime minister n Yahoo to not retaliate has the administration said whether plan to take any other action against Iran for this weekend's attack main topic of conversation between the president and prime minister.

Netanyahu in their phone call on Saturday evening and he conveyed to him that the US would not be part of any kind of retaliatory action or counter offensive and he really stressed the Prime Minister and Israel overall to think carefully and critically about how to respond here because something really could lead to a wider escalation it.

Could really broaden this conflict that's already so fragile and so fraught so we know that the US because it met with other G7 leaders did hint in their joint statement that if they deem there are more moves that are destabilizing to the entire region that there could be future actions here but maybe they would be more economic something like.

Sanctions if they determine that that's appropriate but they didn't want to preview any other kinds of moves or any other kinds of responses and really the president spent much of the weekend huddling with his National Security team and applauding Israel's defense capability and also of course the role that the US played in that which was to.

Shoot down dozens of missiles and drones that came from Iran but also from Syria and Yemen so yesterday he actually called some of those who were part of those fighter squadrons to commend them for their airmanship and their skill so everybody was breathing a bit of a collective sigh of relief that the attack to Israel wasn't worse but of.

Course everybody's still bracing for what could come next and the president and his top AIDS their main message was we do not want this to become a wider War Joe and Savannah Kelly let's talk about what we know at this point for Israel's side of things so despite this warning from President Biden an Israeli official did tell NBC news that Israel.

Will respond to Iran's attack and that their War cabinet is going to meet today they met over the weekend also to discuss options what do we know at this point about their PL do we have any idea what a response could look like yeah Savannah Israel's war cabinet is set to meet again at this hour after convenient for hours last night an.

Israeli official told NBC news that the country will respond as you mentioned but that no final decision has been made on the scale or timing of that response the official said that among the considerations were whether Israel needed to retaliate immediately or could wait and what impact any escalation against Iran would have on the military.

Operation in Gaza we also heard from IDF spokesman Daniel hagari on Sunday he said that operational plans for both offensive and defensive actions have been approved but he didn't get into details on what those operations might be and again it's up to the war cabinet to decide if anything will happen at all a second Israeli Aid to a member of the.

War cabinet told NBC news that no one wants to see an escalation and it's a very delicate time right now now which I think has been underscored by a number of leaders in the region Iran has doubled down on its right to defend itself on carrying out these strikes calling the strikes necessary and and proportionate uh after that April 1.

Bombing of the site in Damascus Iranian officials also said on X that Iran considered the matter concluded after those strikes over the weekend but warned that if Israel makes quote another mistake Iran would deliver a considerably more severe response so the back and forth continuing and everyone now waiting on Israel to see whether or.

Not they will respond so Monica with all that in mind just how worried is the White House that Israel's response could trigger a wider war in that region it is a top concern all weekend long us officials were huddling they were trying to talk to their counterparts their allies throughout the region we know President Biden for instance also called.

King Abdullah of Jordan trying to stress that really ideally the temperature is going to come down here so that this doesn't become a far deeper conflict that does in the US view have the potential for the US and Washington to be dragged in deeper into this conflict than it already is and we heard a little bit more from National Security Council.

Spokesman John Kirby about this concern I'll Meet the Press yesterday listen whether and how the Israelis will respond that's going to be up to them we understand that and respect that but the president's been very clear we don't seek a war with Iran we not looking for escalation here we will continue to help Israel defend.

Itself and that is something that the President also stress to the prime minister in this phone call that us support for Israel is Ironclad and of course that does come against the backdrop of these questions about whether the US will reconsider its policy in Gaza if Israel doesn't do what the US wants it to do from a.

Humanitarian perspective but that was a little bit of a secondary priority and concern this weekend compared to the attack we saw over the weekend in Savannah hey Kelly Monica had mentioned some of these conversations that the US has been having with leaders in the area Secretary of State blinkin spoke with leaders from Saudi Arabia Egypt Jordan.

About this attack over the weekend what has the response been to this weekend's developments around the Middle East tell us more well yet again you're hearing this same line nobody wants an escalation of this secretary blinkin and his Saudi counterpart agreeing they needed a coordinated diplomatic response uh the.

Same message coming from the Egyptian foreign minister the Egyptians and jordanians also talking about the need to get humanitarian assistance into Gaza so not letting the issue of Gaza Slide Away amidst all of this they said it's important to end the crisis there and find a solution that provides lasting peace for both Israelis and Palestinians.

Really emphasizing uh the humanitarian issues uh in Gaza and that continuing crisis and conflict uh and and making sure that that is still front and center along with deescalation uh this conflict now between Iran and Israel all right Savannah Joe Kelly kober and Monica Alba thank you both and let's stay on this we're now joined by Ambassador Dennis.

Ross he's the former special Envoy to the Middle East Ambassador Ross thank you as always for joining us thanks for your time this morning so how concerned are you that any type of response by Israel could escalate into a regional War does does Benjamin Netanyahu have a fair amount of control about what happens next year.

Well I do think all the decisions that are going to be made are going to be more Collective decisions meaning within the war cabinet the war cabinet includes the Prime Minister the defense minister uh and Benny gance uh who joined the government along with Gotti Eisen Cott uh gance and Eisen Cott are two former Chiefs of Staff of the.

Israeli military and I think you're going to see them have a major influence uh in terms of what is done meaning I'm not sure the Prime Minister can make a decision in which they would be opposed to it now having said that your question was uh does that mean there'll be no Israeli response I believe there will be an.

Israeli response but one shouldn't think that an Israeli response is necessarily an avert military attack against targets within Iran Israel has a lot of different kinds of choices uh and and the fact that the Israelis are putting out and I hope they stick with this that they will choose the time place and the character of what they do that will keep.

The Iranians on edge which I think the Israelis want to do number one number two it gives them a lot of flexibility in terms of what they choose to do for example what if the Israelis at some point within a week or so were to do a massive Cyber attack they wouldn't necessarily take credit for it but they could shut down a lot of Iran that would.

Send a message to the Iranian leadership you did this you think it's cost free it's not cost free to you uh there could be other covert kinds of actions once again not necessarily something they take credit for there have been many attacks the Israelis have conducted in the past within Iran against centrifuge assembly plants in like again that.

Wouldn't necessarily be an overt military response so there's a range of things that the Israelis could do that still fall in the category of responding uh but not necessarily look like an overt military attack of the sort that we saw the Iranians carry out carry out against Israel so Ambassador looking at what happened this last weekend 99% of.

Iran's attack was shot down and and as Kelly reported in a statement Iran says it now considers the matter concluded that that begs the question what was this was this meant to be a symbolic show of force is there a way both sides can simply declare Victory and move on or does that seem unlikely I don't think you can call it.

Simply a symbolic approach because when you fire 300 over 350 uh Rockets uh cruise missiles and drones and you try to time those so that it is designed to make Israeli defense against it as complicated as possible they clearly wanted to have they want to inflict some cost on.

Israel uh and so I don't think it was purely symbolic However the fact that they in a sense conveyed that they were going to do something over a period of many days in advance gave the Israelis a time to prepare it also gave us time to prepare we were along with with the British and and others and some in the region we were responsible for.

Intercepting about a third of all the the weapons that were fired against Israel so it gave us time to position ourselves as well in effect what the Iranians were signaling is they were going to do something that was going to impose a price on Israel but at the same time they didn't want to turn it into a wider war and and in a.

Sense so it's it's more than symbolic it is it is a statement they wanted to inflict much more damage on Israel without turning it into an allout War um and they were frustrated in that it is interesting their claims by the way are that they forc Israel to spend a lot of its assets uh in defense and that in itself is an achievement I guess I would.

Make one one more Point M the real Point here is that the Iranians have signaled the Israelis that when the Israelis go after their revolutionary guard senior generals uh in Syria that from now on it's going to draw an Iranian response in effect what they're trying to do is change the rules of the game all right Ambassador Dennis Ross.

Thank you so much we really appreciate your time and expertise this morning let's turn now to our other top story this morning the historic star of the criminal trial of former president Donald Trump yeah jury selection begins today in the hush money case brought by Manhattan's district attorney Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying.

Business records and could face up to four years in state prison prosecutors prosecutors alleg this was done to conceal payoffs used to hide damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election the case centers around allegations Trump tried to suppress various sex scandals with hush moneyy most notable.

A $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels paid via his former fixer and lawyer Michael Cohen now Trump denies any wrongdoing NBC News correspondent Von hilard is outside the courthouse for us this morning so Von history will be made today in that Courthouse right behind you when Donald.

Trump becomes the first former president to stand trial ever in a criminal case explain to us the jury selection process which won't be easy how is that all expected to unfold well first of all guys you're looking at 6,000 New Yorkers who are being summoned this week to the Manhattan Criminal Court System that's not all for the.

Trump trial but in a typical week it's 4,000 and a source tells NBC news that that uh 2,000 person uptick is due to the Trump trial here because of the understanding that you're dealing with the criminal defendant who is so well known and just today alone they're looking at500 jurors coming and there's going to be more than 60 questions that.

Are asked of jurors including everything from whether they've attended a trump rally in the past whether they follow him on social media or what news sites they read or watch what is unique about this case is that each of the jurors they have the opportunity to dismiss themselves for whatever reason saying they are not able to attend what could.

Be a 6E trial this is going to be a very serious process where the prosecution and the defense are engaged you're looking at a total of 12 jurors being selected as well as six alternates vanon who are some of the main Witnesses expected to testify here and at this point do we know if Trump himself will take the.

Stand of course we're looking at Michael Cohen who is Donald Trump's former personal lawyer he's the one Michael Cohen who paid stormmy Daniels theor star two weeks before the 2016 election $130,000 to keep her story silent about her alleged affair with Don Donald Trump but what gets at the heart of the 34 felony counts is Donald Trump's.

Reimbursement of Michael Cohen throughout 2017 in the form of checks for that $130,000 so we expect to see the prosecution bring not only Michael Cohen but also Stormy Daniels but even individuals like former Trump Aid hope Hicks who had put Michael Cohen on the phone with David pecker the head of Ami back in.

2016 the of course hope Hicks was a longtime loyalist Donald Trump and that is what is so compelling here about this case is that these are events that took place now nearly 9 years ago but only after he was leaving the White House at this point in time it was the investigation from the district attorney ultimately culminated in these 34 felony.

Counts so Von break down what is really at stake here both politically and just personally for the former president of course we're less than 7 months away here from the general election and I was at a rally in central Pennsylvania with Donald Trump over the weekend where he repeatedly lambasted the trial against him saying there's no.

Case against him that he is innocent and he made a very clear statement saying that when he goes inside of that courtroom he knows that in his words 200 mil million Americans are behind him Donald Trump is looking to not only make the case here to the jury inside the actual courtroom but also make the case to the American electorate at large is.

That he is innocent or at least that he is being unfairly PR ecuted for Donald Trump there was new polling just from this weekend from New York Times Sienna College though that showed that a majority of Americans including a majority of Independents who are going to be critical to his ability to win in those major Battleground States view the.

Charges against him here in New York as either very serious or somewhat serious so for Donald Trump being able to go onto the campaign Trail when he can because he's required as a criminal defendant to be inside of this courtroom when he's able to get out on the campaign Trail or address microphones he has every intention of trying to.

Undercut the testimony presented against him by people like Michael Cohen but also make the case to the American public at large that he is still the best one fit to be in the White House even if he is found guilty and even sentenced to prison time for 2025 all right Bon Hillard we will be speaking with you a lot over these next several.

Weeks thank you as always we sure will let's stay on this and walk you through the timeline of what we are expecting in this trial yeah jury selection kicks off today that is expected to take one to two weeks overall this trial expected last 6 to8 weeks the court will take some time off it will not meet on Wednesdays it will also take days off.

For Passover which starts April 22nd it's expected to wrap up well before the next big political event on the calendar that is the Republican National Convention which begins July 15th in Milwaukee NBC News legal analyst Danny savales joins us now to dig in on what we're about to see unfold today this jury selection process so as Von had.

Mentioned 6,000 New Yorkers summoned to come in to potentially sered this week that's more than normal tell us exactly what to expect from them in these next couple days I expect we're going to burn through a lot of them in jury selection and that's what the court expects that's why they summoned so many jurors because you can expect right off the bat there.

Are going to be some jurors who will raise their hand and say right up front I don't think I can consider the evidence in a fair and unbiased way because judge Maran has pointed out it's not enough that a juror may not like the defendant uh we're sitting in a county where statistically looking at voting returns a lot of people in Manhattan.

Probably don't like Donald Trump that's not the inquiry the inquiry is whether or not they can set aside their biases and listen to the evidence and make a decision based on the evidence and the law uh however that just may not be possible and judge Maran has said that self-identified jurors who say hey I I'm out I can't do this they're not even.

Going to interview them further so you're going to see a lot of people moving in and then moving out of the courthouse I think relatively quickly as they go through jury selection I did jury duty just last week and the week before yeah but I saw firsthand they were asking for people for like a six week trial and it was nearly impossible.

To get people who could commit to that and that was without the former president being the defendant in the case so let's talk about the questions that are going to be asked here what can be asked of the jurors and more importantly perhaps what can't be asked because you can't say like who'd you vote for in the last election right.

Notably that is the question that is omitted from the juror questionnaire but look let's get real some of the questions in there certainly give you an idea of which way someone's politically leaning for example what do you read here are some of the other questions have you ever been a member of qon or antifa that might give you a couple.

Ideas of which way a juror leans politically but the specific question of who did you vote for isn't in there on the other hand did you ever attend a rally for Donald Trump if you attended a rally for Donald Trump either you're a journalist or you're a fan of Donald Trump so these questions and judge Maran himself said look we're not asking that.

Voting question but going to be able to tell from the answers to some of these questions which way someone leans and the bottom line is it really doesn't matter what really matters is whether or not they think they can set aside whatever thoughts they have about this particular defendant I actually think normally in jury duty uh the mission is.

Get out of jury duty I actually think something they need to guard against is the stealth juror somebody who's going to pretend to be oh I am just vanilla neutral you can put me on this jury but they have an agenda this is arguably one of the four most important Criminal cases in American history if you're a juror and you are thinking about a book.

Deal or something like that or you just want to be part of History this is the place to be right now wow it's a lot to watch for quite a tall order to get this in line Danny savales thank you so much we'll be talking throughout the week let's bring in axio senior politics reporter Eugene Scott for more on the potential Fallout of this trial Eugene.

Good morning so a recent New York Times poll showed 58% of Voters see these charges as very or somewhat serious I mean for almost any other politician a case like this would be fatal that's not the case for former president Trump in fact it's only strengthened his support within his base why is that and what could be the impact on more.

Independent-minded voters or swing voters who maybe voted for him once but didn't vote for him another time sure well one reason is that the former president has been incredibly effective and communicating to his base uh that he's being targeted that this is a Witch Hunt and we've seen since he launched his campaign in 2016 that these.

Individuals are incredibly loyal to him and believe what he says very often when he communicates to them what the agenda of the US government is in terms of Swing voters a group I speak to often through the axio swing voter project overwhelmingly when we talk to people in Pensylvania North Carolina Wisconsin Michigan and all these states that will.

Be influential in determining who will win the next presidential election most of these individuals are not on the Trump train and they are concerned that the former presidents ongoing legal problems which will continue or could continue should we say uh after the election in November uh could make it difficult for him to lead this country.

This could be the only trial right that actually has a verdict before Election Day this year the fact that it's this particular one of all of the legal issues the former president is facing what could any outcome of this trial guilty innocent what could that mean for the election well we know that there have.

Been individuals that we've spoken with who are swing voters who have said that if convicted they will find themselves much less likely much less willing to back Donald Trump and so this could be very instrumental in determining whether or not Donald Trump gets to return to the overall once this Tri trial begins Trump is going to be in court most days.

That's the expectation how will this affect his ability to run a successful campaign against President Biden we know he sort of has turned this into part of the campaign but there's also No cameras in court well it'll have a significant impact the reality is it's very difficult to campaign I mean it's a.

Full-time job uh and so if he's not able to attend this job he's going to have to resort to other options some of the options that uh his campaign have said they'll resort to is leaning heavily on surrogates they're going to spend significant time talking to conservative media knowing that conservative media is quite popular with their base and.

They're going to hope that social media uh is able to communicate to people that they're hoping to reach including those outside of his base what it is that he believes he will do if he's able to return to the White House and hopefully that message Will trump whatever's happening in the court all right Eugene Scott thanks so much for joining us this.

Morning appreciate it well there is much more to come here on morning news now after the break it's being called burglary tourism thieves flying to the US on tourist visas and breaking into homes in upscale neighborhood neighbor hoods more on the organized crime ring investigators say is responsible and what's being done to stop them later.

Hoop dreams about to become reality for the biggest names in college basketball we're going to get the down low ahead of round one of the WNBA draft stay with us we are back now with a look at new efforts to crack down on what law enforcement agencies call burglar tourism it's when professional thieves.

Travel to the US on tourist visas and then break into home NBC News correspondent Dana Griffin has more we do and you know you kind of feel like it is your Sanctuary on Valentine's Day 2022 Dr Nancy silverberg's safe space perched on this Hillside in Orange County was targeted by thieves climbed up over there and fell through there was.

A big hole in the patio cover stealing more than $100,000 in jewelry and family heirlooms you feel violated oh yes investigators say she was likely the victim of so-called burglary to forests gang members in an organized south american crime ring and it's happening all across the country thieves caught on camera breaking into this home in.

Scottsdale Arizona and this pair who hit a home in Miami law enforcement officials say thefts like these have been an ongoing problem for the past 5 years but there's been a recent uptick this is organized crime hands down and these thieves are not sneaking across the southern border to get in instead they're flying to the US entering.

Legally on tourist visas under under a program known as the electronic system for travel authorization or esta for $21 online 43 countries participate you can come here for 90 days at a time Orange County district attorney Todd Spitzer says these professional thieves use camouflage while watching your home and may be armed with the latest technology.

Wi-Fi jamers so if you have a wi-fi system then they block that if the police are being dispatched because there's a Sil silent alarm from the alarm company they have the ability to block these police Transmissions that's like military level type stuff it's only military and Spitzer says many of the suspects come from just one country.

People we've arrested here in Orange County have criminal records coming from the country of Chile congresswoman young Kim says that's because a key part of the agreement is being ignored allowing these gang members to enter the United States under the agreement Chilean government has to vet every single passenger that gets on the plane but.

They're not doing it Chilean officials say while the total number of cases are relatively small quote we recognize the severity of the problem and Homeland Security says they are working with the Chilean government to detect deter and prevent travel to the United States by known criminal actors Nancy silverberg has added extra security to her home and.

She hopes lawmakers will solve the burglary tourists problem this seems like such an easy back door way that I think could be addressed Dana Griffin NBC News get to weather now Millions across the Plains and parts of the South are under risk this morning for strong to severe storms Michelle Gman is with us.

With the latest hey Michelle good morning hey there guys great to see you and yeah we're looking at another three-day event of the threat for severe weather today we're looking at Millions under the threat for tornadoes some really large hell also the chance of some damaging winds on the back side of this system we're looking at cold air in.

Place so Mountain snow for parts of the Cascades parts of the Rockies also really windy conditions and then another big story on this Monday Southern warm actually really 2third of the country really warm for this time of year portions of the Northeast them in Atlantic will feel more like June and we're going to break some records in.

Some spots today let's start with that severe weather threat because we are looking at 14 million people at risk from the Southern Plains all the way to the dtas especially where you see the yellow and the orange that is a likely spot for seeing some stronger storms so parts of Nebraska parts of Kansas the likeliest spot 14 million Americans.

Under the risk for damaging in halil 2 in or greater that's large also winds gusting up to 60 MPH a few tornadoes are possible as well the number grows on Tuesday to 24 million same sort of story same all the hazards on the table once again tomorrow for large hail few tornadoes and winds gusting up to 60 MPH again where you see the yellow and.

Orange that is the likeliest spot especially in parts of Missouri into Iowa and also Illinois but Chicago you can see some airport delays as you go throughout your Tuesday Wednesday we're going to see that number at 12 million it's going to shrink a bit moving a little bit to the east so now we're talking about the Tennessee Valley parts.

Of the Ohio Valley into the Great Lakes but still Indianapolis Lexington Nashville Paduka you could see some strong storms on your Wednesday winds ging up to 60 M hour smaller hail but also the chance of hail and a few tornadoes are possible we're worried about some heavy rainfall as well this is why a storm system bring cold air on.

The backside where we're going to see that snow also the cold front going through some really warm air that's why we're expecting the chance of some late day storms we could see some stronger storms and that will again move to the east as we head into Tuesday and Wednesday here's the chance for heavy rainfall where you see the Reds the.

Oranges the yellows and parts of the dtas into the Great Lakes the Midwest we are expecting the highest amounts of rain and we could see some flash flooding with any of these storms so 2 in or greater in some spots Big Time warmth guys we're looking at temperatures into the 80s near 90 degrees in some spots New York City.

Today 15 degrees web normal we're going to end up right around 77° so enjoy it with some sunshine as well 77 like that forecast thank you Michelle appreciate it thanks coming up continuing coverage of the historic criminal trial of Donald Trump jury selection set to start today with thousands of potential jurors.

Summoned for questioning in Trump's New York hush money trial when we come back more on what to expect and what's next for the former president this is morning news now we are back now with more on the history that set to play out in a New York City courtroom later today where.

Former president Trump will become the first ever former president to face a criminal trial it's all over alleged falsified business records used to cover up hush money payments prosecutors say he made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign Trump has denied any wrongdoing and says the case is part of an effort to hurt his.

2024 presidential campaign NBC News correspondent Jay Gray joins us from outside the courthouse with what to expect Jay good morning so walk us through two things here the charges the former president is facing and also what jurors are being asked to consider as that's what's getting underway today yeah safan Joe it's expected to be.

A controversial and really a a very difficult trial on both sides here as you talked about 34 charges about falsifying business records in order to conceal damaging information or unlawful activity from voter voters just ahead of the 2016 election what it boils down to is that six figure payment made initially by Michael Cohen an attorney.

And fixer for former president Trump which he repaid after taking office so the question for jurors is going to be is this a payment that was made to hide information to hide the alleged Affair which Mr Trump says that he never had uh from voters or was it to hide it from uh other individuals including his family was he embarrassed about this and didn't.

Want his family to know if so that's not an illegal payment if he was hiding this information though uh from voters ahead of the election obviously uh that would be illegal here and so that's where the jury's going to have to draw the line and going to be tough according to Legal analysts on both sides to really differentiate that Jan what Witnesses.

Are we expecting to be called in this trial who could take the stand yeah there're a number Joe and and many of it uh reads like a roll call for a soap opera a cast of a soap opera we'll have stormmy Daniels as expected to take the stand or she is at least on the potential uh witness list along with Michael Cohen who we talked about who by.

The way has been convicted for making those payments of uh campaign finance charges and then we expect to hear from uh Daniel's ex attorney Michael aanad who is in federal prison right now for stealing money from his clients and then uh a number of former Trump AIDS including loyalist hope Hicks so uh that will be a very interesting part of all.

This and how it may play out inside this courtroom and Jay how realistic is it that the former president himself could testify well look I I think when you talk to Legal analysts and most lawyers they say it would be a bad move but the former president has said repeatedly that he is willing and would like to testify as a part of this case he has to.

Be in the courtroom unlike the civil cases every day of this felony trial and he has again said that he wants his message relayed by himself that he wants to get up there and say this uh while it's maybe not the best uh uh strategy legally it is the former president so I I think we're at 50/50 right now as things get started we'll see all right.

Jay Gray from Laura Manhattan for us thank you so much this is a historic day so let's bring in NBC News presidential historian Michael BOS for more context on the significance of today's events Michael good to have you with us so we know Trump's the first president to face criminal charges I don't need to tell you when it comes to criminality in the.

Presidency of course Richard Nixon comes to mind ultimately though he was pardoned by President Ford for what he did in office this case here it's about alleged acts that would have happened before Trump even took office I guess have we ever seen anything like this when it comes to the president or former president in the country just how.

Historic is this moment well I I can say this with a full heart uh Jo and Savannah this is something we have never seen before in American history yes Richard Nixon as you both know was pardon by Gerald Ford 1974 and without that Nixon would have probably gone on a criminal trial or more than one trial in 1975 and 1976 we.

Could have seen the first former president president going to prison but here we are not only a former president but someone who is about to be nominated by his party and is going to be on the ballot this fall to come back to the to the White House if he is elected for another term uh this takes this to a new Stratosphere and I think ultimately what.

People are going to look at this in history for is not only the fact that you know in history they'll say Donald Trump who was the first president to go on Criminal trial and they'll say whether he was acquitted or convicted but future historians F future Americans are going to say was he not above the law and not below the law in other words.

Was this trial because he was a controversial former president running for president again or uh did they say that he was given a lot of breaks that the rest of us would not have uh Michael the prosecution's alleging this broader conspiracy right it's not just about what was paid or why it was paid or how it was documented but.

But that this was actually done uh to try to influence the 2016 election essentially so when you think about that aspect you look at polling voters see that as a serious crime they say it's important to them but in the past how a presidential candidate sort of push the envelope when it comes to trying to influence.

Elections well this has happened in history that's what Richard Nixon was all about you know what he would have gone to jail fa for is obstructing justice in order to cover up something that happened during his political campaign in Watergate in 1972 so that has happened before and there's certainly a president for.

Getting into criminal trouble the jury in the end is going to have to read the law did he violate the law You know despite all of this you know I was chuckling when both of you were saying that those pictures of all these people are going to testify looks like a soap opera it really does but we have to remember that this is a serious effort.

To make sure that none of us is above the law and you can't convict a former president or a possible future president if he did not do something badly wrong Michael if he is convicted these are State charges which means if Trump's elected he can't pardon himself another Republican president in the future can't pardon him he faces potentially maybe up.

To four years in prison it's also possible if he's convicted he'll get no prison time but but if he is sentenced to prison time what do you think even just that Prospect means for the country especially heading into an election where he's on the ballot well we're going to learn things about ourselves that we don't know at this moment you.

Know it's this this the biggest question you could ask this morning which is you know let's say and I'm not suggesting this or predicting it but if Donald Trump is convicted and let's say he is sent to prison those are two enormous ifs but if that happens a spectacle we have never seen in American history some of those people who were saying he was.

Railroaded they don't care they want to vote for him anyway would the sight of him in that scene make them change their minds a lot of American History suggests yes so above and beyond everything else that we're going to see during the next month or two and we're going to see all sorts of things that we we cannot even begin to predict this morning we're.

Going to learn whether Americans have become so jaded that they will just say okay well he's a felon that's you know it was unfair and this was you know something that shouldn't have been done voting for him anyway we should all stay tuned uh he as any citizen right is of course deserving of of a fair trial that's what this process in our country.

Is supposed to do this is not a foregone conclusion you kind of touched on this before but is it almost sort of a bright spot in a way that this is kind of like this test of of our whole system here so much so that somebody who once held the highest office in the land is kind of even being put into that system sure you know one of the reasons that Americans.

Hate politics at this moment is that they think that our political system often times does not work and that even our justice system is not perfect you know some people will say people who are rich or famous or powerful get better treatment before the law than people who are not that way or for other reasons so what this is going to be is is going to.

Be a big classroom lesson for all of us does our system work and particularly uh does the law apply equally to everyone an ex-president or someone without that kind of power and fame Michael BOS we're grateful to have you on this morning thank you as always for your time thank you be well both thanks Michael coming up first comes love then comes marriage.

What happens next might not be like the classic nursery rhyme we come back why more and more couples are choosing to go childless stay with us morning news now we'll be right back we are back now with financial headlines starting with what we are watching on Wall Street this week tbc's Pippa Stevens joins us now with that and other.

Money news good morning pppa Hey Joe well Wall Street is set to open higher as the market looks to rebound from last week's losses the Dow dropping nearly 500 points Friday and the S&P 500 posted its worst day since January on lingering concerns about inflation and earnings season following disappointing results from JP Morgan oil prices are pulling.

Back today as Israel reported limited damage from Iran's drone and missile attack this weekend even as Traders Grace for any potential response also in Focus today economic data on retail sales and housing and earnings from Goldman Sachs meantime Google could be adding a feature to the pixel 9 smartphone that's already available on.

The iPhone Android authority reports it's teaming with T-Mobile to include an emergency SOS satellite feature the tool would ask pixel owners a series of questions to determine what's happening the feature won't necessarily be free a similar one offering by Garmin cost $15 per month apple is subsidizing its SOS service for now and it's tax day and.

Last minute filers can get their hands on some deals and freebies Crispy Cream customers who buy an original glazed or assorted dozen donuts can get a second dozen for just the price of sales saacks in their state GrubHub is offering a $15 discount on delivery pre orders over $25 today with the tax with the code tax break to the first 1,000 customers TGI.

Fridays is offering a new limited time cocktail to celebrate the end of tax season the tax break features 18800 tequila Citrus Agave strawberry and passion fruit served with a shot of Hennessy to soften the blow of owing money or to celebrate a refund Joe and sanon this is one of my most hated days of the year I know you drink all that.

Though you might forget that you filed your taxes it's like yeah thank you for the run down there pppa thank you so much more and more couples are choosing not to have children instead they're embracing something called a dual income no kids lifestyle they're being called dinks a name that really I feel needs to change.

And they're sharing their stories on social media NBC News Now anchor in clay esima has the details there's a new term buzzing on the internet dink it means dual income no kids put simply it's referring to couples where both partners are employed but have no children Logan Hillary Leo and bod it sounds like a full house but.

It's actually a couple and their dogs Hillary and Logan are 31 and 30 they've been married for nearly 7 years meeting in college when we got married I felt like the pressure was on like when are you guys going to have kids like were people asking you all the time oh my gosh this second we got married what's been your experience as a couple with no.

Kids yeah I think it's given us opportunities that we may not otherwise gotten if we would have had kids right away together they've traveled to about 20 countries embracing the freedom of dink life is not new quick history lesson the term yuppies was used in the 80s referring to a population of young urban.

Professionals really sort of a derogatory term to refer to these people and then dinks came out of that to specifically Target people who were living lavishly and on top of that they're not having kids dink then popping up in media in the 80s but today young people like the BS are reclaiming the term the bows say no kids has.

Allowed them to focus on building their marriage careers and wealth Hillary is a self-employed influencer and Logan works at a consulting firm we are technically dinks but when you use that phrase there is a lot of hate that comes with it you know I'll get some nasty comments on some videos and stuff what do people say there you're selfish you're going to be.

Lonely when you're old you're going to have no one to take care of you we love kids but when we're in Ohio with my nieces and nephews it's our natural birth control their choice a microcosm of a larger Trend birth rates in the US declining in the last 15 years a 2023 NBC News analysis finding that today families are smaller and people are.

Waiting longer to have kids Based on data from the national Center for Health statistics yes there has been a decline infertility but uh often after a decline we'll see an increase so while the focus these days is often on gen Z and uh Millennials and their fertility intentions I would say the jury is still out about whether or when they will have.

Children as for the Bulls the label of dink may not be a permanent one we will have kids eventually we're not putting a timeline on that though you don't really know somebody's backstory as to why they may or may not be having kids our thanks to Zin clay esima for that report coming up a new era of women's sports is about to begin that is right round one of the.

WNBA draft happening tonight with Caitlyn Clark and some of the biggest names in college hoops fueling the excitement we'll break down the hype behind one of the most stacked draft classes in basketball history this is Morning News Now a highly anticipated WNBA draft which is happening tonight right here in.

New York it comes on the hills of a record-breaking season in viewership for women's college basketball joining us now for more on what to expect in this year's draft is kava Davidson she's a sports writer and the co-author of loving Sports when they don't love you back dilemas of the modern fan good to have you with us so the Indiana Fever.

Have the number one pick my goodness they they have to be picking Caitlyn Clark right there are there any lingering questions about how her college game will translate to the big leagues I mean they're always going to be questions about how you translate when you go to the highest level of competition I think that that's a fair.

Uh that that's a that's a fair thing to be looking forward to but the Indiana Fever know exactly what they're doing with this pick um Caitlyn Clark will fit in very nicely with Alia Boston who was also the number one pick last year uh out of out of South Carolina was rookie of the year and the fever are looking forward to a huge boost in interest out.

Of this you know uh they they they've already seen a spike in in ticket sales this is a team that had the that had the second lowest uh home game attendance last year and even the Las Vegas Aces have moved their home matchup against the fever to a bigger Arena because of the anticipation for Caitlyn Clark coming to the league aside from Caitlyn.

Clark tell us who else that you're watching out for it especially as I understand there's been some changes in the mock draft do we care about that does that matter does that impact tonight I mean it does you know I think that you're going to see beyond Caitlyn Clark an incredible depth of talent that is going to be drafted um pretty much a.

Lock at number two is Cameron Brink who's a power forward out of Stanford um she's the very definition of a two-way player she impacts both the offensive and the defensive sides of the ball and then things get really interesting you've got uh probably the most WNBA Ready Player in Ria Jackson uh who's a small forward out of Tennessee she's a.

Shooting machine she made 22 three-pointers this season um and then Camila cardosa who just won the National Championship with uh with South Carolina we saw what she can do and then beyond that you know there's some other names to look out for obviously uh JC from Ohio State and then Angel Reese it'll be really interesting to see where she.

Lands there is a chance that she could land on the same team as Camila cardoso of the Chicago Sky uh draft both of both of them in the first round and they don't have uh particularly good blood between them so it'll be interesting to see how that happens yeah I mean with Angel ree it got so much attention when she and Caitlyn Clark had the feud with.

The rematch over the national championship last year but she is such a strong player where ultimately do you see her going will it be in the top 10 I think it will be in the top 10 it's a question about I think right now she could be projected as going seventh or eighth um and look she is obviously already a star as you said she is uh she.

Is a strong player she's a force on the boards um there are some questions about how her offensive game does translate to the pros she's not the most efficient scorer um but it'll be it'll be great to see what she does in the in in the pros so obviously this is a very big draft for the WNBA and as we mentioned coming off these records in viewership for.

Women's basketball do you think that this hype carries over to next year I do I absolutely do and I think that we're seeing that um structurally to be honest not just in the last five years we've seen growth year-over-year in viewership but we're seeing looking ahead to the season you know what people in charge of the programming are doing you know the.

ESPN just announced uh 36 of the 40 Indiana Fever games will be featured on national broadcast and streaming uh the aces will have 35 of their games on National Outlet the New York Liberty will have 31 of those games available to everybody in the country and that's on ABC ESPN CBS you know Amazon Prime down the line and that's really what's going.

To help continue to propel the growth of of this sport we got the draft coming up tonight and then the season starts in about a month kava Davidson as always we appreciate your time and your expertise thanks for joining us this morning it's going do for this hour of morning news now stay with us though don't go anywhere the news continues.

Right now good morning happy Monday welcome to a busy news week thanks for joining us I'm Savannah Fellers I'm Joe frier let's get right to the headlines a big Newsday both at home and abroad this morning the world is awaiting a potential military response from Israel after Iran launched.

That unprecedented and direct attack on the nation over the weekend the damage in Israel was minimal thanks in part to its sophisticated air defense system and a response from allies including the US still Iran celebrated the attack as a success saying it achieved its goal so what comes next President Biden sending another clear message to Israel's prime.

Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US will not stand behind any sort of retaliation we've got team coverage back home that criminal hush money trial involving former president Trump and adult film star stormy Daniel set to begin today right here in New York we going to set the stage as history unfolds on two critical fors we are.

Going to get started this morning straight to NBC News senior legal correspondent Laura Jarrett to kick off our coverage of the former president's trial hey there it was just a little over a year ago that Donald Trump walked into a Manhattan courtroom for his first arrayment and today another first the former president and current presumptive.

GOP nominee on trial in the middle of a re-election campaign possibly the only one of his four criminal cases to see a conclusion before this November this morning in New York City history in the making with jury selection beginning in the first criminal trial against Donald Trump thousands of prospective jurors summoned.

Down to the courthouse in lower Manhattan for extensive vetting over the next several days questioned on everything from their favorite podcast to whether they've ever been to a trump rally the ultimate jury of 12 and six alternates not expected to be sequestered away from their families but.

Will stay Anonymous to the public for their own safety prosecutors expected to argue Mr Trump orchestrated a plot to buy The Silence of a porn star who threatened to derail his 2016 bid for the White House hello how are you reeling from the release of the Access Hollywood tape prosecutors say Mr Trump wanted to bury the story of a trist with.

Stor Daniels so his former fixer Michael Cohen paid her off with $130,000 just days before the 2016 election the Crux of the state's case will be how the presumptive GOP nominee allegedly doctored his company's books to cover up how he reimbursed Cohen sometimes you hear people describe it as a weak case and I think that's the wrong.

Way to think about it the evidence is compelling it's an attempt by Mr Trump to obscure important facts from the voters right before the election Mr Trump denies the encounter with Daniels ever happened pleading not guilty after a grand jury indicted him on 34 felony counts last year more recently suggesting he's prepared to risk taking.

The stand at trial yeah I would testify absolutely and continuing to try to turn what would ordinarily amount to significant legal Jeopardy to his political advantage while he seeks reelection framing the prosecutors and the judge in this case as in all of his cas cases as out to get him when I walk into that courtroom I know I will have.

The love of 200 million Americans behind me as for picking the jury in this trial it could last several days if not weeks given the lengthy questionnaire the judge plans to walk through with each individual person back to you all right Laura thank you so much let's dig in further with NBC News legal analyst Kristen gibin fed and she joins us here.

On set which is very exciting to have you in person with us so let's talk to this process 12 jurors six alternates it seems like a tall task what are they going to be asking of these potential jurors how do you see this process going the main Crux of what a jury selection process is going to be trying to uncover is whether or not any of those jurors.

Sitting as FactFinder can be fair and impartial so they're going to ask them all sorts of questions where do you live what's your education like because jury is really jury selection is really a jury deselection process so they want to know what's the best juror but only way that the court system can actually strike a jur the judge is if they cannot.

Be fair and impartial so the jur so the attorneys are going to want to ask more bias type questions what channel do you watch um where do you live what's your education like because they have a specific juror that they think will look at the evidence and find in favor of their potential person um but the court is the one that can only strike someone.

If they are being fair and impartial so there is this jury questionnaire what are are some of the questions we see on that and how is it the lawyers tend to look at that in making their decisions so they're going to be asking questions like what channel do you watch because they're going to say if it's one particular Channel News Channel um are.

They going to be left leaning or right leaning and so obviously the um uh defense is is really going to look for the right leaning individuals and the Commonwealth or excuse me New York is going to be looking for more of the left leaning people but ultimately again what they want to what they really want to know is.

How many times do you watch TV because typically if those people who are watching more TV will have more of the news they may have pred decided the case without actually looking at the case and looking at the evidence which is the only thing a real juror can actually consider so are political leanings enough here you know to disqualify.

Someone one way or the other I mean it's probably going to be difficult just given that we're all citizens and this is a former president for somebody who doesn't have an opinion at least about Trump but what is it that would get to the point of disqual qualification the only thing that would really qualify as a court disqualification would be if.

Your political leaning impairs your ability to be fair and impartial if the person says no then obviously the attorney is going to want to know what political leaning they are and strike them but again the only way they can be stricken stricken by the court is if they cannot be fair and impartial all right Kristen gibin F and great to have.

You with us thank you so much thank Youk you us officials are closely monitoring those mounting tensions in the Middle East Israel's war cabinet is meeting this morning to discuss its response to this weekend's unprecedented attack from Iran more than 300 drones and missiles were launched into Israel on Saturday night most thwarted by Israel's air.

Defense systems with support from the US and other allies but today President Biden is urging Benjamin Netanyahu not to retaliate the mid fears it could spark a wider War NBC News Chief foreign correspondent Richard Angel has the latest from Jerusalem could have been so much worse Iran's attack was stopped had it not been we.

Would very likely be in a new war this morning with the United States involved and now President Biden and other world leaders are calling for restraint and deescalation looking at Israel this morning you can hardly tell the country just faced an unprecedented attack from Iran Israelis bounce back quickly but what happened this weekend could have.

Easily triggered a massive war and it's not off the table what saved Israel and stopped a wider War were air defenses and extensive American Health around 2 a.m. Sunday morning we watched as more than 300 Iranian missiles and drones were heading for Israel its air defense system lighting.

Up the sky over Jerusalem for the last several minutes we've seen these flares streaking all across the skies over Jerusalem and now for the first time we're hearing the air raid sirens it was a striking ju toos modern weapons over the ancient city sites holy to billions of Jews Christians and Muslims could have easily been damaged.

Or destroyed also threatened the nearby Christian Town of Bethlehem visiting American Cardinal Dolan forced to take shelter in the end there was almost no no damage as Israel the Us and other allies shot down 99% of Iran's missiles and drones most of them before they even entered Israeli airspace President Biden.

Praising American troops involved I swear to God you're incredible thank you Mr President keep it going stay safe man in Iran they celebrated the nation's first direct attack against Israel retaliation for an Israeli airri strike two weeks ago on the Iranian Embassy compound in Damascus that killed seven members of Iran's revolutionary.

Guard but Iran could have made its attack more difficult to stop sending its slow flying drones in waves all the way from Iran effectively giving Israel hours of advanced warning Israel's war cabinet meets again today but so far Israeli officials are remaining vague about any potential response saying only that they will act.

At a time and place of their choosing all right Richard thank you so much for more we are joined by former NBC News correspondent and bureau chief in Tel Aviv Martin Fletcher Martin always good to have you with us to get your perspective to tap into your expertise so this is the first time Iran has directly attacked Israel from its own.

Territory even though this didn't cause any significant damage is this a sign the so-called Shadow war is now out in the open I mean what does does this mean for the region well that's exactly right the shadow war is now in the in the open Israel President yesterday I believe it was said that now the the attack by Iran.

Was basically a declaration of war against Israel and I think that's overstating the issue a little bit and the fact that Israel has said that this morning said that they would T do they would retaliate at a a time and a place of their choosing I think that's music to the ears of Washington which was very Traders you know that Israel would just.

Retaliate kneejerk strong reaction against Iran s endangering the region possibly encouraging a wider War which is what everybody wants to wants to avoid so there there is that positive aspect to it um but I think the bottom line is that Israel has been attacked it will retaliate in some way and the question is whether their retaliation.

Will spark a wider War um at the moment there's a lot of pressure on Israel coming from every corner almost most from the United States from Europe from the G7 from within Israel also of course to to to um to to retaliate in a measured way that will not spark a greater configration but Israel has to do something it will do something it may.

Not be right away absolutely so Martin as as you're saying President Biden has said that to sort of practice that restraint also National Security Council spokesman John Kirby appeared on The Today Show earlier this morning with a similar message let's play a little bit of that and we'll talk on the other side we want to see deescalation uh clearly.

In the region and everything the president has done since October 7th has been designed to keep this from becoming a wider War Savannah and that's why we're going to keep lashed up with our isra Israeli counterparts that's why we're going to make it clear again to the Israelis we'll do what we have to do to to defend them uh help them in their.

Self-defense uh but we don't want to see a wider War we don't want to see this escalate we certainly are not looking for a war with Iran Martin do you see the white House's position influencing the israeli's decisions does this change the calculus for how Israel will respond especially as we understand their War cabinet is.

Meeting today well Israel has to pay attention very close attention to President Biden as you know prime minister nety has been had this on and off rather hostile relationship with the American president under present circumstances that has to change and change immediately and therefore nahu and the war cabinet in.

Israel that met again today after a long contentious meeting last night they have to take into consideration what the United States says but the bottom line is that the region has dodged a bullet for the time being because Israel has not launched a an immediate retal retaliation but I think what's going to happen out of all this is that in a.

Sense is good news for Israel in one way because the the the consensus is that that Israel is now being um emerging from the isolation that followed after October 7th you know Israel as you know after after October 7 attack Israel came under a lot of criticism and is still under criticism for it the way it responded in Gaza Israel was becoming.

More and more isolated but now with the combined attack the combined defense rather of the Israel with the United States with European countries like Germany France Britain and also with the help of Arab countries like Saudi Arabia the U UAE Jordan with all that emerging it's Israel is now emerging from that isolation it has real uh I guess you can.

Say friends in time of need that's what happened um and I don't think Israel wants to break that is it's a step forward diplomatically and politically for Israel that would be ruined if Israel suddenly launched a a violent attack now on Iran so I think that the effect on the region and on Israel in the short term is positive politically.

For Israel they don't want to throw that away by a a sudden attack on Iran Martin for those who don't know two of your family members were kidnapped during the Hamas terror attack on October 7th We Were released to report that they were released we're very tight on time here but these latest developments what could they mean for the remaining hostages.

Well one of our families still is the remaining hostage and I think what it means is that the that you know the pressure is on in in Israel not to do anything that would endanger the release of the hostages and there are negotiations ongoing right now herass apparently has presented a plan a new plan that Israel has to look at and see.

Whether there any aspects of it they can agree on but I think what it means really for the hostages is that a release is delayed in the short term but at least it's encouraging it's encouraging these negotiations that are continuing either way then what I can tell you here in Tel Avie where I am now uh the hostage families the the families.

Of the remaining hostages are absolutely desperate they're demonstrating every day and they're terrified that this latest round of violence will endanger their family members even more you're thinking of them and always thinking of you and your family Martin Fletcher thank you for your time always Mar good to see you before we head the break.

Let's check in with meteorologist Michelle Gman yeah she's got the forecast Michelle good morning hey there guys and it's a good one for some of us not so much for others we'll start with the severe weather threat because we have a multi-day event where we're going to see the threat for severe weather Monday Tuesday Wednesday so for today.

That threat exists from the Southern Plains all the way to portions of the dtas on the cold side of the system we're looking at heavy snow in parts of the Cascades parts of the Rockies drying out in parts of the Southwest and then we're looking at really warm weather for 2/3 of the nation we're going to see temperatures feeling Junel likee in many.

Areas could even break a few records we're going to be near 80° in New York City today by Wednesday those strong storms move into the Midwest the Ohio Valley parts of the Tennessee Valley we're going to see rain too for the Mid-Atlantic eventually on Wednesday snowy still in the Inner Mountain West and Northern Plains sunny and warm on.

Wednesday in parts of the Southern Plains noce 80s and 90s in parts of Texas and then by Friday we'll see some rain from the Great Lakes all the way down to the Tennessee Valley could see some storms as well in April chill for the Northern Plains into the great lakes and Upper Midwest 40s on the map on Friday there and the record highs in the.

Southeast especially in Florida let's talk about that severe weather threat because we're looking at 14 million people impacted today especially where you see the yellow and especially where you see the orange Lincoln also just north of witch you could see some strong storms with damaging hail very large hail winds gusting up to 60 MPH and a.

Few tornadoes are possible by tomorrow we're going to see that number growing up to 24 million same sort of story where we have the threat for damaging hail a few tornadoes winds gusting up to 60 M hour causing power outages De Moine Kirksville just uh west of Peoria you could see some strong storms again where you see the yellow and also the orange.

So parts of the Ohio Valley into uh the great lakes and then Wednesday we'll end here guys 12 million at RIS throughout the Ohio Valley into the Tennessee Valley but once again we're going to see temperatures very U much above normal in parts of the East today back to you all right Michelle thank you so much much more to come on this busy Monday morning.

Including continuing coverage of former president Trump's criminal hush money trial involving adult film star Stormy Daniels set to kick off here in New York this morning first though the future of OJ Simpson's estate thrown into the spotlight this morning as his longtime attorney takes the Reigns what that could mean for the families of Nicole.

Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman after the football star's death that's next we're back now with new details surrounding the future of ogj Simpson's estate Simpson's longtime attorney Malcolm ver was named as his executive and is now tasked with managing any claims to the former football players estate which could include from the.

Families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman NBC News correspondent Jacob soov joins us with the latest hey Jacob good morning hey Savannah good morning to you yeah in an interview with Malcolm L he tells us that he is taking his role as executive of the Simpson estate very seriously he's also already combing through simpsons's assets to try to.

Figure out what he's worth this morning the battle between OJ Simpson and the Goldman family continuing even after Simpson's death centered around the estate of the former football star turned celebrity defendant orthal James Simpson not guilty of while Simpson was famously acquitted in the criminal trial over the murders of his.

Ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman he was found liable for wrongful death in a 1997 civil suit the jury ordering Simpson to pay more than $33 million to the victim's families the Civil verdict was the only opportunity we had to punish him for what he did to Ron and Nicole damages that were never paid in full and have.

Since ballooned to more than $100 million according to an attorney for Fred Goldman Ron's father in a final will drafted in January of this year Simpson ordered all of his property be placed in a trust how those assets are distributed will be determined by his longtime attorney Malcolm L now multiple parties including the Simpson and golden.

Estates along with the IRS have already requested payments according to leverne on Friday lever telling the Las Vegas review journal I will do everything in my capacity to try and ensure that the Goldman get nothing comments he later walked back in our interview Mr Goldman's claim obviously has to be accepted still lever maintains.

Simpsons's estate likely won't be able to pay the debt in full Mr Goldman's probably going to have to decide whether he's going to be willing to negotiate while Simpsons funeral arrangements are still being finalized lever says Simpson's four children are discussing a private ceremony for family and friends and despite multiple requests for the.

Former football star's brain to be examined for the degenerative brain disease CTE Simpson's family has declined to donate his body to science and it's a hard no because the family members are in consensus that the entirety of Mr Simpson's body will be cremated Jacob so tell us is there any estimate on how much OJ Simpson's estate.

May be able to pay the families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman I don't think so Savannah at this point the answer is no but what lever tells us is the task right now is to determine basically exactly that and he this is all going to play out in Probate Court by the way but I guess the way that this is going to unfold is that he's going to.

Have to look at assets including things like simpsons's uh golf clubs and jewelry that he owned to determine what each of those things is worth then they can move forward uh from that point Savannah and by the way we we did reach out to the um Nicole Brown Simpson family and to the Ron Goldman family neither of them got back to us all right.

Jacob thank you so much it was 5 years ago today the world watched a catastrophic fire devastate paris's notredam Cathedral now as the city gears up for July's Olympics the restoration is almost complete NBC News Chief International correspondent Kier Simmons has been seeing some of the work going into rebuilding this iconic building he.

Has been following the process step by step joins us from Paris with more Kier good morning Hey Joe good morning to you it is raining it is blowing a gale here in Paris but nothing can wipe the smile from our faces cuz that is it that is the newly restored Spire without the scaffold around it that Spire that you.

Saw go crashing down into nram 5 years ago around a thousand crafts people have worked on making that happen including one guy who's over here but hell's from over there this morning the world able to admire this iconic Cathedral once again beautiful it's fantastic it's awesome I just wish I could get inside years of.

Delicate restorative repairs inside and out the centuries old Monument now nearing completion parts of the massive scaffolder gone revealing the carefully mended scars from the devastating fire 5 years ago an inferno tore through the interior of the Magnificent Church consuming 800 years of History in.

Minutes bringing the cathedral back to its former glory required rare skills remaking each of its famous wood structures amongst the few foreigners involved in the Colossal effort Hank Sila a carpenter from New England who helped rebuild the roof made by medieval Craftsman what does it feel like to be standing here now it still.

Doesn't feel real if I'm honest it's still uh a bit um bit of a dream really Hank belongs to Carpenters Without Borders a volunteer group of woodwork experts restoring historic structures Around the Globe last year he watched overwhelmed as the trusses he crafted were transported and lifted into position what was it like to watch that.

To see a a truss of that scale hand Hune pegged together flying through space it's it's a really out of time kind of experience last December NBC News got a special Glimpse inside the cathedral climbing 3 100 ft to spectacular views across Paris so this is the Spire that went crashing down ex actually we all watched it all around.

The world right up there is where we were now the can be seen across Paris again we first met Hank last summer at a workshop in Normandy painstakingly crafting the roofs being in the US we have a built tradition that's much newer being able to work on this building which is the birth of this technique is particularly.

Meaningful using replicas of Medieval tools like these axes Hank and his colleagues reconstructed each truss exactly as they were made in the 13th century as Carpenters here we've had to do things that the original Carpenters never did we've had to recreate all these inconsistencies all these deformations that have ured over the.

Centuries the Reconstruction effort 5 years on nearing the Finish Line while Hank now calls France home this incredible building has changed your life oh absolutely for the rest of your life you can come here yeah and look at this and know that you had a part in it I'll be dining out on this for a long time yeah.

Yeah I think this is the city to dine out and Hank says maybe he's not confirming anything he left a few momentos and perhaps a few signatures there in nraam Joe if you want to get inside they say they're going to reopen the place in December book your tickets oh unreal just fascinating and a.

Inspiring what they've been able to accomplish Kier thank you so much for that great look we appreciate it that was really cool all right more international news now starting with new developments in that deadly stabbing Rampage at AAL in Sydney over the weekend NBC's Claudia lavanga has that in otherw world news claudo good.

Morning Joseph good morning that's right Australian police looking for a motive behind that knife attack that left six people that in that busy shopping m in Sydney last Saturday now believe that the attacker may have targeted deliberately women now five out of the six victims of the attack were women and police say that videos of the attack.

Shows that the attacker was focusing on women while avoiding men the attacker named as 40 years old Joel couchi was shot dead by an officer during Saturday's Rampage let's go to Indonesia now where at least 18 people died following a landslide on Sula Wei Island the landslide goes by torrential rain came down on Saturday from surrounding.

Hills onto four houses in the small villages of male and South male a spokesman for the search and rescue team said a big family gathering was taking place in one of the affected houses and still looking for two missing people let's end this tour of the world in Paris where we just saw here where athletes in the Summer Olympics will.

Compete on a purple RAC trck for the first time it is a move away from the traditional red brick clay color we are all used to including the athletes of course why well the company in Northern Italy that has provided tracks at every summer game since 1976 said it used a new generation of granules that are more elastic and cohesive and has been.

Designed uh to minimize en energy loss and enhance performance in other words it is expected to help Olympians to run faster jump higher and leap further than to you guys that's what I need a purple track and then I'll be super fast medal thank you claudo all right when we come back we have continuing coverage of that historic hush money trial involving.

Former president Trump and adult film star Stormy Daniels it all kicks off this morning right here in New York where to take you to the courthouse up next we are back with more on former president Trump's unprecedented hush money trial it is the first ever criminal trial of a former president of the United States and it could have.

Far-reaching effects on the 2024 presidential election prosecutors alleged Trump falsified business records used to cover up hush money payments that he allegedly made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign Trump has denied any wrongdoing and he says the case is part of an effort to hurt his 2024 presidential.

Campaign NBC News National correspondent Yasmin wugan joined us now from outside the courthouse so Yasmin I mean you could argue this is not the most serious of the four criminal cases against former president Trump yet it might be the only one where we get a verdict before election day so what is at stake here for the former.

President not not just a verdict Joe by the way um it could be the only one that actually even goes to trial what's at stake here is the former president's Freedom possibly he's looking at facing four years in prison if he's found guilty think about the historic moment that we are facing currently in our country right the first ex-president of.

The United States the presumptive Republican nominee facing criminal charges today he'll be on trial for probably four to six weeks or so he's going to be inside that courtroom every single day we are beginning today with jury election which is expected to last around two weeks or so with a week off likely for Passover could judge wmer.

Sean has already said he's going to be giving off um jurors for for Passover we've seen a glimpse of the jury questioner some of the questions guys that stand out to me are honing in specifically on the media in which some of these potential jurors um watch do you watch Fox News do you watch MSNBC do you watch CNN what podcasts for instance.

Do you listen to what news radio do you listen to if we think back for instance to um judge kaplan's juror question question during the defamation trial with e Carol one of the questions that were asked um was do you think uh the 2020 election was in fact stolen right they're not asking that question outright here but you can deduce.

Essentially from some of the questions in this jur questionnaire where folks stand and the jury really the makeup of the jury guys is really what is going to make or break this case for Donald Trump yasine walk us through the arguments where expecting from prosecution but then also the defense quickly we just have a few seconds here.

But remind us what we're looking for so so for prosecution um essentially they're saying Donald Trump falsified business records to Aid in winning the 2020 election to influence the 2020 election we got a list of witnesses potentially from the prosecution everybody from Stormy Daniels Karen McDougall Michael Cohen the star witness.

Keep in mind here right the question is will the jury in fact Michael Cohen credible right we know and Goron the Trump civil fraud trial wrote in his judgment in fact he found Michael Cohen to be credible Michael Cohen is likely to testify towards the end of this trial um he may be on the stand possibly for one week when you're thinking about the.

Defense their whole game here is chip away at The credibility of the witnesses specifically the star witness Michael Cohen they've already begun to do that and by the way look out for more delay tactics throughout this next four to six weeks guys because we're going to be getting a lot of those from the defense all right Yasmin thank you so much let's.

Now bring in NBC News National Security analyst Frank FY to talk about the security implications of this trial Frank good morning so we're in uncharted waters here with the criminal trial of a former president what level of security are you expecting well this is the right City for this security challenge because I am.

Expecting high levels of security and in a protracted fashion I think any City can handle something like this for a day or two but for four or 6 weeks it's NYPD and its Partners in the federal government that are the best at this and then you know there's going to be clearly inconveniences that New Yorkers are used to they they get the UN General.

Assembly every year for example but you're going to have traffic disruptions not only around the courthouse on Center Street but also there's other locations that are going to be part of this picture because Trump at the end of the day will likely lay his head at Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue he has a campaign head in New York uh on Wall Street and.

He'll be headed there I'm sure between on breaks or after after the the court day is over so you're going to see parts of the city disrupted for this but as we move forward I also have great concerns about people on the periphery who's that um jurors who are ultimately selected and their security Court staff and prosecutors and witness and the judge.

All of this all of these people will be in a security bubble for a protracted period of time so Frank in addition to all those folks you mention we know that Mr Trump has been rallying his supporters to try and protest at the trial history tells us when protesters show up counter protesters show up what are some of the biggest security risks.

When it comes to what's happening outside of the courthouse today and throughout the trial yeah great point and I have to tell you this is a unique challenge for secret service and for the police why do I say that because ordinarily the Secret Service wants a peaceful quiet small crowd kind of day for their protecte and.

That's their that's their dream day that's not the case for this protecte Donald Trump is part of the challenge because a good day for him is a large loud crowd with lots of chaos and protesters he's already uh posted on Friday that this is the day that all hell will break loose he's already posting this morning so you have this.

Iry of secret service and the police trying to trying to look for peace and quiet and you have this protecte who's trying to disrupt the court proceedings make it loud and noisy so all you need as we saw at a Kansas CH Kansas City Chief's Super Bowl Parade right Victory Parade all you need is someone with a gun to have a have a beef with somebody.

Else and now you've got a violent incident to attach to the court security challenge Frank as always we appreciate your expertise thanks for joining us this morning on a historic day Apple's run as the world's top smartphone maker seems to have come to an end cbc's Pippa Stevens joins us with another headlines say Pippa good morning hey Savannah.

Apple has lost its spot as the world's top smartphone maker to Samsung data from research firm IDC shows iPhone shipments fell about 10% in the first quarter of this year hurt by Fierce competition from Android smartphone makers and as Chinese companies take more share of the global market Apple's reain was short it had just claimed the.

Top spot in the fourth quarter of last year when it was helped by the popularity of Premium devices aggressive tradein offers and interest free financing plans meantime Tesla could be preparing for major layoffs electri reports employees are hearing rumors that cuts could be coming this week after Tesla told workers in Texas it's.

Shortening production shifts for the Cyber truck some are speculating layoffs could be as high as 20% of the workforce Tesla is coming off a disastrous first quarter as vehicle deliveries fell year overy year and came in well below analyst forecasts the company has been expected to reduce production to adjust For What appears to be lower demand.

Overall for electric vehicles and McDonald's has found a new way to learn customers to its stores the fast food giant has debuted several red and yellow Billboards in public spaces in the Netherlands that give off the distinct Aroma of french fries local officials say McDonald's is using ventilator ERS to diffuse the scent of the fries which.

Were placed inside the Billboards and are strategically placed within 700 ft of a restaurant people can experience the full french fry effect when they get up close and personal with the boards I mean wow I guess this is a whole new marketing marketing campaign like scratching sniff stickers or something yeah and everybody's nose up in it oh I.

Don't like any of that they diffuse it out more pump the pump the space with the smell all right PPP stens thank you so much thank you all right coming up space camp the Next Generation after the break our own Gody Schwarz lives out one of his childhood dreams he went to space camp to get a glimpse at how future astronauts are training for liftoff it's.

Next stay with us welcome back the Hollywood backed British soccer team rexim are continuing to write their own movie script after they won a second consecutive promotion for the first time in 19 years rexen will be playing in League one soccer that's the third tier of the game over.

There the small But Mighty team found new fans around the world after was bought by Ryan Reynolds back in 2021 for $2.5 million their comeback was the subject of the hit documentary series welcome to rexim the dragons as they're known are now two promotions away from facing teams like Manchester United and Arsenal in the Premier League reynal.

Says he cried tears of joy at the news and this is just like so Ted lasso yeah no kidding you can see Ryan Reynolds Rob mhen he absolutely over the moon over that all right when it comes to the future of space the next wave of missions will depend on a whole new generation of explorers these young minds are fueled by curiosity and a.

Burning desire to get back to the moon and go even farther NBC News Now anchor Gody Schwarz went to space camp to meet this next generation and see what it takes to get them to space Man start 4 3 2 one zero booster cool it's out isn't it and LIF off special discovery at space camp it's never too late for liftoff all.

Right all my childhood dreams are coming true right now but first buckle up because my crash course in becoming an astronaut starts with a spin and it's called the multi-is trainer yes because I'm going to be spinning on all the axess all the taxes there we go oh yeah all right d how you feeling I.

Feel great it's like the most complicated rocking chair I've ever been in scuba diving for space is completely different than ocean scuba diving this is more like a lunar walk correct where we're just jumping around with our feet vertical then is like scuba diving on Earth I see a basketball hoop down there.

Yeah you're going to shoot some hoops am I going to school these kids right here what do you think clearly a skill that could come in handy on the courts of a lunar star base but on Mars that's a whole other ball game and this is where space camp beats the 21st century the Mars base gets a little tight in here come on.

On in come check this out future astronauts training not just for what's to come but honoring the history that allowed us to leave our planet and explore like those famous Apollo missions to the moon and the legendary Saturn 5 rocket when you're underneath this thing it finally sinks in how insane it is that we humans put.

Astronauts on the tippity top of this thing this is the size of the Statute of Liberty Saturn 5 rocket is one of the crowning achievements of humankind and it's something that's changed space travel forever and so here we go this is the largest artifact of the Smithsonian institution this is what took us to the Moon that's right it was a period of.

Stepped up activity in anticipation of the first man flight in Apollo FP off we have a LIF off how is the quality of the TV oh it's beautiful Mike really is while the days of Apollo and the shuttles are behind us space camp is all about preparing a whole new generation new Mission and a new name what we call.

Now the Artemis generation these are people that are growing up with the expectation that of course we're going back to the moon and we're going on to Mars your lives started not too long ago what do you think you're going to see in your lifetime hopefully something happening with Mars I reck y I reckon something with that will happen meet.

Ruby Hannah and Lily all the way from Australia these generation emis campers are obsessed with all things Cosmos do you see yourselves in space in the future maybe not in space I mean I could go to space that would pry you're maybe doing support down here and every job matters because while the space industry is booming studies show a.

Shrinking pool of young Engineers entering the field at Nasa only 177% of the agency's workforce are millennials or genz and the emis generation aims to change that who checked this out hey Lily you made Commander oh yeah Commander huh okay don't crash we'll see we'll see with commanders like Lily taking the helm anything is possible and.

Without curiosity we' have nothing and the willingness to always want to know more like not just stopping at what is already in front of you you guys give me hope for the future thank you thank you thanks to Gotti for that story and for all the young astronauts who are giving all of us hope absolutely we're very happy for him that he got to do.

That that was a bucket L side for him we love you Gotti All Right finally this hour a touching tribute to a dog named Spencer the former mascot of the Boston Marathon who died last year this year Spencer is being remembered with a statue along the Route where he stood Runners also get to meet the two new puppies stepping in the Spencer spot NBC.

News Now anchor Hy Jackson has the story hey there so at the Boston Marathon today a special surprise for the runners a reminder of a legacy living on and man best friend becoming a HomeTown hero when Dory and Rich Powers adopted their golden retriever Spencer in 2009 they knew he was something special what.

Was it about Spencer that first Drew you to him he was just so sweet and unassuming and once I picked him up I just did not want to let him go an angel they called him but for thousands more he was also a hero two years after the Marathon bombing in 2015 Spencer began spending every year rain or shine.

Roadside cheering on Runners with a flag Boston Strong reminding the athletes that they were too Spencer was like the marathon mascot for so many people Beyond just your family he faced a lot of challenges he had some severe health issues and he miraculously bounced back and he just took his spot every year and he was just.

Such a symbol of Hope and inspiration that people could latch on to and latch on they did people stopping for snuggles and selfies Spencer so beloved he became the marathon's official dog so when he died last year it broke hearts in Boston and Beyond sympathy cards pouring in his obituary in the New.

York Times and now a statue funded by donations right along the marathon route near where Spencer always stood I can't thank you enough this boy meant the world to us and he meant the world to a lot of.

People here you go beautiful Bo a new guard will greet Boston marathon runners meet Jimmy and Jade does he live on in these in these new puppies that you have I think so yeah definitely they're so sweet and they have a mission and they they're going to do it like Spencer they're training to become Therapy Dogs part of Spencer's Legacy in.

A way honoring a HomeTown hero this community cannot forget he was a symbol of Hope and resilience and an inspiration for so many that we want this to go on for Generations he was just a symbol you can do way more than you think you can and you know you can do it rich and Dory say Jade and Jimmy will.

Be on the route today they will be ready for some snuggles definitely worth a stop to say hello back to you all right hlee Jackson thank you good luck to everyone running and we just love a dog picture story I have to imagine the Boost that would give you to see that cute million side of the road that's going to do it for this hour of morning.

News now stay with us though on this big news day the news continues right now thanks for watching stay updated about breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app or follow us on social media

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