NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Thursday, April 18, 2024

Episode Date: April 19, 2024

Jury selected in Trump's New York hush money case, dozens arrested in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, a 911 outage impacted millions across four states, and more in tonight's broadcast.

Tonight, the full 12-person jury now selected in Donald Trump's hush money trial after two jurors were dismissed. The judge declaring, we have our jury after seating the 12 people who will decide the former president's fate, including an investment banker, a retired private wealth manager, and a speech therapist. And the two jurors who were dismissed, a nurse and an IT worker, why they were excused, our team at the courthouse. Also tonight, Columbia University's president calling in the NYPD to arrest more than 100

pro-Palestinian protesters a day after she testified before Congress about anti-Semitism on campus. The widespread 9-1-1 outage in four states, millions unable to call for emergency help, the cause now being traced to a single light pole, the 18-year-old arrested in Maryland accused of threatening to shoot up schools, the chilling 129-page document, and more that led a friend to call police. The close call at Reagan National Airport, two planes nearly colliding on the runway. You'll hear the frantic call from the tower. Fifteen members of RFK

Jr.'s family sending him a sharp rebuke, blasting his presidential bid and endorsing President Biden. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome. The Trump hush money trial appears to be speeding toward opening statements tonight more quickly than many imagine, with 12 jurors now selected to hear the case and one of six alternate jurors also chosen late today. The rapid assembly of a jury panel came after the process appeared to suffer a serious setback earlier when two previously selected jurors were dismissed from the case, one who had second thoughts about her ability to be impartial, the other over an apparent failure to disclose interactions with law

enforcement. The Manhattan jury will sit in judgment of whether Mr. Trump illegally falsified business records as part of a scheme to conceal hush money payments to a porn star with whom he's alleged to have had an affair, allegations he denies. Laura Jarrett has late developments. Tonight, a full jury of 12 now sworn in in former President Donald Trump's hush money criminal trial after the day began with drama surrounding two jurors dismissed. The full jury now including an investment banker, security engineer, retired private wealth manager, speech therapist, physical therapist, someone in e-commerce, and a product development manager. I'm supposed to be in a lot of different places campaigning, but I've been here all day on

a trial that really is a very unfair trial. The whole world is watching this New York scam. Mr. Trump arriving this morning with seven jurors sworn in, only to see that number quickly go down to five. After an oncology nurse who had said during questioning that no one was above the law, I'm here to just hear the facts. Tell the judge today she had concerns she could not be impartial about Mr. Trump and worries about her identity becoming public after loved ones figured out she'd been impaneled. The other juror, an older IT consultant who had called the presumptive GOP nominee fascinating and mysterious in court Tuesday, excused today

after prosecutors said he was arrested for tearing down conservative political ads decades ago and did not reveal it on his juror questionnaire. But late today, those additional jurors selected to serve, among them an investment banker who said he follows Mr. Trump's truth social posts and has seen quotes from his book, The Art of the Deal, but has not read it. The retired private wealth manager who said he does yoga every morning and that speech therapist saying of Mr. Trump, I tend not to agree with a lot of his politics and his decisions as a president, but said she can be impartial. At one point, a prospective juror even apologizing to the

former president for her past criticisms of him on social media. She was dismissed. Today's events underscoring the challenges of seating a jury in deep blue Manhattan, where 85 percent of people voted for President Biden. When the pool of 96 prospective jurors was asked this morning if they could be impartial in judging the likely Republican nominee, nearly 50 hands went up saying they could not and were dismissed. Kat was among them. KATIA KATZ, Former U.S. Attorney General, U.S. Attorney General's Office of Justice

and Justice, I couldn't be impartial. It's a historical case, and this is going to define so many things. But at the same time, our job as a juror, right, is to be impartial. LISA DESJARDINS, The Washington Post-Trump Show, The Washington Post-Trump Show, The Washington Post-Trump Show, The Washington Post-Trump Show, The Washington Post-Trump Show, The Washington Post-Trump Show, The Washington Post-Trump Show, The Washington Post-Trump Show, The Washington Post-Trump Show, The Washington Post-Trump Show, The Washington Post-Trump Show, The Washington Post-Trump Show, The Washington Post-Trump Show, The Washington Post-Trump Show, The Washington Post-Trump Show, The Washington Post-Trump Show, The Washington Post-Trump Show, The Washington Post-Trump Show, The Washington Post-Trump Show, The Washington Post-Trump Show, The Washington Post-Trump Show, The Washington Post-Trump Show, The right, is to be impartial. Mr. Trump sounding off about the jury selection process, writing he was given the second worst venue in the country. He's accused of doctoring his internal

business records to hide a reimbursement payment to Michael Cohen, who allegedly paid off Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election so she couldn't go public about an affair. Mr. Trump denies any sexual relationship with Daniels and has pled not guilty. And, Laura, the jury is seven men and five women. And there was one alternate selected today. LAURA BARRON- That's right, Lester, one alternate selected, five more to go. But one of the most remarkable moments, Lester, happening at the very end of the day, when the prosecution said it would not turn over the names of the first three

witnesses that it plans to call at this trial. That's something that's routinely done so that the defense can prepare. But the prosecution here, Lester, saying they're so worried that Mr. Trump will say something about them on social media. And the judge in this case agreed, Lester. All right, Laura, thank you. We turn now to a stunning scene at Columbia University in New York today. Police in riot gear moving in to clear an encampment of students protesting the war in Gaza. Dozens arrested. Antonia Hilton is there. Antonia, describe the scene for us. Lester, right now, press isn't being allowed on campus. So what you're seeing here are protests that have spilled over to the public streets. Protests that, as you can see, appear to be far from over.

Confrontation at Columbia today. Police removing protesters from campus. Citing extraordinary circumstances, Columbia University President Manu Shafiq called in the NYPD to clear an encampment of pro-Palestinian student demonstrators. The encampment set up Wednesday morning, the same day Shafiq testified on Capitol Hill about anti-Semitism on campus. We must uphold freedom of speech because it's essential to our academic mission, but we cannot and shouldn't tolerate abuse of this privilege to harass and discriminate. In a letter to the university community, Shafiq noted, protests have a storied history at Columbia,

where anti-Vietnam demonstrators took over buildings on campus in 1968. But in asking for help from the police, she said, the encampment and related disruptions pose a clear and present danger to the substantial functioning of the university. We are risking our academic standing just to show the administrators that we are not okay with their decisions. Several demonstrators today stomping on an Israeli flag. Some students saying they feel unsafe on campus. I feel as though people are kind of weaponizing anti-Semitism. Demonstrators telling us they plan to keep their protests going despite the police presence. Do you

feel like this administration has clamped down on students and faculty members' free speech? 100 percent yes, I do believe that. New York City's mayor tonight saying police made more than 100 arrests on a campus severely divided. Antonia Hilton, NBC News, New York. The government is investigating why critical 911 centers in multiple states were knocked offline. Experts say it exposes a critical national security vulnerability. Here's Tom Costello. Breaking this afternoon, Honolulu police reporting a brief 911 outage in the city, coming after more outages Wednesday night on the mainland. You may have

difficulty reaching us internally. We're having difficulty receiving 911 calls as well. 6 p.m. Central Time, multiple 911 centers suddenly cut off in parts of four states, South Dakota, Nebraska, Nevada, and Texas. Several call centers pushed out emergency alerts, telling locals to use their cell phones or text for help. To our knowledge, we have never experienced an outage of this magnitude or duration. Today, phone service provider Lumen Technologies blamed three state outages on a cut fiber line due to a third-party company installing a light pole, writing, we restored all services in approximately two and a half hours.

We are dealing with 9-1-1 in last century technology. We're in the 21st century. We need to ensure that our 9-1-1 systems are current technology. While an isolated event, experts say the outage underscores an urgent concern. U.S. cybersecurity has warned that hackers want to exploit vulnerabilities to disrupt or degrade 911 service. At risk, sensitive data that could affect emergency response abilities. Was anybody injured? Already, ransomware attacks on 911 centers, including Bucks County, Pennsylvania, have forced dispatchers to revert to manual systems.

In 2017, 911 centers in more than a dozen states were paralyzed. Now, amid heightened global tensions and a divisive election looming here at home, concern that critical emergency communications can easily be undermined. Chris Krebs is the federal government's former cybersecurity chief. The homeland, as we say, is no longer a sanctuary. So we really have to bake in cybersecurity resilience measures into every business plan, into every operational plan. Tom Costello, NBC News, Washington.

A Maryland teenager is under arrest charged with threatening mass violence. Yamiche Alcindor reports on how a friend raised red flags. Tonight, 18-year-old Alex Yee is in custody after Maryland police say he threatened to shoot up his high school, all detailed in a 129-page memoir that discussed killing students. Yee shared the document with a friend but said it was a work of fiction. According to charging documents, that friend called the Baltimore County Police because they believed a school shooting was imminent. I'm worried because now I don't know what to think.

I don't know who in this school is going through something that I might not see. Ye had been attending the high school virtually since 2022 and recently spent time in a psychiatric facility due to suicidal and homicidal thoughts, according to police. In the memoir, he detailed how he'd do it and who his ideal victims would be. The document opens by saying it is a work of fiction, but Yi's friend told police the book's main character mirrored Yi in many ways. They were both Asian and felt bullied by other students. Authorities detailed other red flags that led to the misdemeanor charge, including medical officials previously reporting that Yee was preoccupied with self-harming,

school shootings, and explosives. Authorities say Yee's Instagram chat logs also reference wanting to be a famous serial killer. While Ye's only firearm was a BB gun, police said his Internet searches included gun ranges near me and searches about school shootings, including Sandy Hook and Parkland. Ye's father told police he was not concerned about his son's mental health status and had been aware that he was writing what he called a novel. He is currently being held in custody where he awaits a bond hearing. Lester. All right,

Yamiche, thank you. Let's turn to the 2024 presidential campaign. Today, prominent members of the Kennedy family endorse President Biden, even though Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is running against him. Gabe Gutierrez reports. Today, with his opponents stuck in court, President Biden on the attack in Battleground, Pennsylvania. The 2024 election is about two fundamentally different visions for America. Donald Trump's vision is one of anger, hate, revenge, and retribution. The campaign touting the endorsement of 15 Kennedy family members, even though one of their own, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is running against him as an independent. The best way forward for America is to re-elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to four more years. Responding to his family's endorsement of his

opponent today, RFK Jr. posted on social media, we are divided in our opinions, but united in our love for each other. The environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist first ran as a Democrat. Now, Kennedy's independent campaign is polling above 10 percent in a few key swing states, where Biden is also trailing Trump. Democrats are aggressively attacking third-party candidates like Kennedy, whom they view as a threat to President Biden's re-election, people involved tell NBC News. Though it's not clear which candidate, President Biden or former President Trump, would lose more votes to RFK Jr. Kennedy told NBC's Vaughn Hilliard this in February. I hope to draw equal numbers from both of them. I think at this point I'm probably drawing more from President Trump. A source

familiar with the Biden campaign's planning says the Kennedy family endorsement was months in the making. Notably, they didn't mention RFK Jr.'s name once at today's event. Lester. In 60 seconds, urgent calls from the control tower. As two planes on a collision course avoid hitting each other with little time to spare. Back now with the scary close call at Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C., two planes nearly colliding on the runway. Emily Akena now on what went wrong. A hair-raising moment today on one of America's busiest runways. Stop, Southwest 2937, stop. An air traffic controller frantically telling a Southwest plane to stop. We stopped. We were cleared to cross runway four. After it was cleared to taxi across a runway at Reagan National in Washington, D.C. When come runway four clear for takeoff. A JetBlue plane was about to

take off, according to the FAA, but then also suddenly told to abort. A source says the planes came less than 1,000 feet of each other. Something went amiss, causing one controller to clear the airplane to take off and another ground controller clearing the Southwest Airlines to cross that same active runway. So to me, it looks like it's what the FAA calls an operational error involving an air traffic control issue. After a string of near misses, an independent safety review found last year over time is at a historically high level for air traffic controllers and challenges, including staffing shortages, have caused an erosion of safety margins that must be urgently addressed.

Tonight, the FAA reports serious runway incursions are trending down. Stop, stop, we're at 2937, stop. Regarding the latest scare, both airlines say they're working closely with federal investigators to determine what went wrong. Emily Ikeda, NBC News. And next, pollen season. What's causing such an eye-watering spring for so many? Allergy sufferers, it is not your imagination. For many, allergy season really is getting worse. Anne Thompson explains why and what you can do about it.

This is where David Gittler loves to be, outdoors playing sports. But his worsening allergies make fun, even school difficult for the eight-year-old. His eyes are like really bloodshot. He's just so uncomfortable that we've kept him home. Hi, David. Trend allergist Alyssa Hirsch sees in her Long Island, New York clinic. You told me that your eyes are itchy and watery. Yeah. We have more patients coming in now with severe allergy symptoms. They're coming in sneezing, congested. At University of Michigan,

Allison Steiner is putting up a pollen counter to track the trend driven by climate change. Climate change is making pollen increase. It's both increasing the magnitude of pollen as well as the length and duration of the pollen season. This is an example of a birch pollen grain. Steiner says the pollen season is already 20 days longer and concentrations are up 21 percent. And the severe thunderstorms in a changing climate break up the pollen into smaller pieces that go deep into the body. While the large pollen grains are stopped by your upper respiratory system,

the tinier particles can get into your lungs and they can trigger more respiratory distress. This is common ragweed. On the pollen grains, Columbia's Louis Ziska sees more proteins, another trouble sign for allergy sufferers. If there's more of that foreign substance, then you're going to show a stronger response. Proteins making the pollen more potent, multiplied by the carbon dioxide fueling climate change. Carbon dioxide is changing the chemistry of the pollen? Yes, exactly. To keep the pollen outside, doctors recommend taking off your shoes before going in,

washing your hands and face, and wiping down your phone, glasses, and sunglasses. David Gittler uses a tray of medicines to cope as his mom worries his allergies will get worse. It scares me because I see how much she suffers from it every year. With no relief in sight. Good job. Ann Thompson, NBC News, New York. And that's nightly news. Join us tomorrow for our interview of Iran's foreign minister. Thank you for watching, everyone. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other.