NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, May 14, 2024

Episode Date: May 15, 2024

Former President Trump’s defense team cross-examined his former fixer Michael Cohen in the ongoing hush money trial, at least 8 people were killed when a bus carrying farm workers was involved in an accident with a pickup truck, the first NTSB report is out on the Maryland bridge collapse, President Biden announced new tariffs on goods from China, and more in tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight the combative cross-examination as Donald Trump's defense team gets its chance to grill his former fixer, Michael Cohen. The defense going after Michael Cohen's credibility, accusing him of being motivated by revenge, and confronting him about his own social media attacks on Mr. Trump. The tense questions coming after Cohen detailed a 2017 White House meeting where Mr. Trump allegedly agreed to reimburse him for the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels. The jury is seeing the checks. Also, the pressure Cohen says he felt from the former president not to flip on him. And how Cohen says his family finally convinced him to turn on his old boss. Also, tonight, the horrifying crash in Florida, a bus carrying farm workers colliding

with a pickup. At least eight are dead, dozens injured. Now the truck driver accused of DUI and facing charges. Just out, the first NTSB report on that Baltimore bridge collapse. What happened on that ship before impact? President Biden announcing sweeping new tariffs on China's goods, including raising the tax on their electric cars to 100 percent. NBC News investigates the battle between the church and a library in a place known as the hometown of Superman. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome. The gloves came off today in the criminal trial of Donald Trump as the defense got its chance to question former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen. Trump attorney Todd Blanch confronting Cohen with his history of lies, peppering him with questions designed to expose potential holes in his credibility, painting him as a disgruntled former employee bent on revenge. Cohen is a key witness against the former president, who has testified that Mr. Trump directed him to buy the silence of adult film actress Stormy Daniels

about an alleged affair and was in on a scheme to disguise the payments as legal expenses. Mr. Trump has denied an affair and pleaded not guilty to charges of falsifying business records. Under cross-examination, Cohen pressed about his relationship with Mr. Trump, asked if he was obsessed with Donald Trump. Cohen responding, I admired him. Laura Jarrett on one of the most dramatic days in the trial so far. Tonight, Donald Trump's defense team tearing into the prosecution's star witness, suggesting Mr. Trump's self-described fixer turned fierce Trump critic Michael Cohen is out for revenge on his former boss.

Do you want President Trump to get convicted in this case? Trump attorney Todd Blench asking. Sure, Cohen acknowledged. Cohen confirming he recently said the former president belongs in a cage like an animal. The defense trying to cast Cohen as motivated to lie that he previously fed prosecutors dirt on Mr. Trump to get out of prison early and that now his financial livelihood, including media appearances and podcasts, centers on trashing Mr. Trump. Cohen acknowledging he's made more than three million million off his books Disloyal and Revenge and that he had been going on TikTok six days a week to slam his former boss to paid subscribers saying of his past praise of Mr. Trump, quote, at that time I was knee deep into the cult of Donald Trump The defense getting Cohen to admit he previously described himself as obsessed with Mr. Trump insinuating he was jilted once pushed outside

the Trump orbit. The state's case largely depending on jurors believing Cohen's word, as he's the only witness who said the former president knew his internal records were falsified to cover up Cohen's payment of an adult film actress before the 2016 election. Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty to those low-level felony charges. We had a very good day. I think we're exposing this scam for what it is. Thank you very much. Earlier today, the prosecution questioned Cohen, who told the jury these invoices seeking repayment for services rendered in 2017 were false records and that the retainer agreement he references never existed. Prosecutors guiding Cohen through check after check with the retainer language included

all false statements, he said, because they weren't for valid legal fees, but reimbursements for the hush money. Cohen describing a meeting with Mr. Trump at the White House in 2017, where he posed for this picture. Cohen says they discussed Mr. Trump reimbursing him for paying off Stormy Daniels, an arrangement developed by Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg months earlier. I was sitting with President Trump and he asked me if I was OK. He asked me if I needed money. And I said, no, all good, he said, because I can get a check. I said, no, I'm OK. He said,

all right, just make sure you deal with Allen Cohen testifying later, saying he was frightened when the FBI raided his home and office in 2018, saying Mr. Trump told him, don't worry, I'm the president of the United States. Stay tough, which Cohen took to mean don't flip. But Cohen says he turned against Mr. Trump after consulting with his family. My wife, my daughter, my son all said to me, we're supposed to be your first loyalty. Cohen has been disbarred and convicted of lying under oath. And tonight, the defense zeroing in on his motives. Trump attorney Blanche asking Cohen

if he was motivated by fame. Cohen suggesting that's not fair to say. Blanche then quoting this excerpt from Cohen's book, quote, I wanted it all power, the good life, public acclaim, fame. Those are my words, Cohen said. Yes. Meantime, Laura, there is a defeat tonight for former President Trump regarding the gag order he calls unconstitutional. Yes, Lester, an appeals court has refused to overturn that gag order that bars him from attacking witnesses at trial. But now the attention has turned to what his allies are saying. Many showing up here to the courthouse in recent days, including today, the House Speaker Mike Johnson attacking the prosecutor's case. Lester. Laura, thanks very much. In central Florida, the scene after the collision of a pickup truck and a bus carrying dozens of migrant farm workers. Now, eight people have died. Sam

Brock joins us. And Sam, the driver of the pickup truck is under arrest tonight. Lester, good evening. That's right. The driver of the truck you see in the ditch over my shoulder that is right now about to be towed faces eight counts of DUI manslaughter after police say it veered in the path of the bus and sent it careening into the field over my shoulder. This morning in Florida, a deadly crash on a country road. Obviously we're here because of a tragedy. We've got eight dead people. Just after 6 30 in the morning, a retired school bus carrying more than 50 migrant workers to a Marion County watermelon farm sideswiped by a pickup truck.

The school bus traveled off the roadway onto the grass shoulder where it went through a fence, struck a tree and overturned. First responders dispatched in force more than 30 ambulances, rushing 38 people to area hospitals. At least eight of them died at the scene, several more in life-threatening condition. So there's high probability this may be beyond eight fatalities. Florida Highway Patrol identifying the driver of the pickup truck as 41-year-old Brian McLean Howard with a lengthy criminal history, now charged with eight counts of DUI manslaughter. Locals in this largely agricultural area say these back roads can be dangerous. This road seems to have a lot of

traffic incidences. Over the past several years, it's been even worse. Authorities say that weather might have been a factor and promise a full investigation into exactly what caused the fatal crash, but say that review could last six months. I'm confident we will have answers for the family to be able to give them closure of why we have this crash. For now, this wreckage offers only sorrowful questions and inconsolable heartbreak. Sam Brock, NBC News, Ocala, Florida. And late today, the National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary report of what went wrong aboard the Dolly, the massive container ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Ryan Nobles is there.

Ryan, what did they find? Well, Lester, they determined that the ship lost power twice that night. The second power loss coming when it was just 350 yards away from the base of the bridge. And while crews did alert authorities immediately, it was not enough time to anchor the massive vessel or for tugboats to get there to steer the ship to safety. One crew member on board the ship actually had to abandon anchoring the vessel in order to avoid being hit by the bridge as it collapsed into the river. Now, the report also revealing that the ship lost power just 10 hours before this accident. It all comes a day after crews used controlled explosives in order to remove part of the bridge that was still resting on board the ship. That ship still remains stuck in the river here behind me.

They are hoping that they can begin the process of moving the ship out of the river as soon as tomorrow. Lester. OK, Ryan Nobles, thank you. Now to what some economists worry is an escalating trade war. President Biden announcing higher tariffs today on about 18 billion dollars worth of products from China, including electric vehicles. Gabe Gutierrez is at the White House. With China revving up to sell government-subsidized electric vehicles for as low as $10,000, tonight the Biden administration is slapping higher tariffs on EVs and other Chinese goods to fight what it calls unfair trade practices. It's not competition, it's cheating. The price to import electric vehicles from China will now quadruple from a 25 percent

tax to 100 percent. The president is also announcing hikes on a slew of other Chinese products including steel and aluminum, lithium-ion batteries, semiconductors, syringes and needles, and personal protective equipment. China heavily subsidized all these products, pushing Chinese companies to produce far more than the rest of the world can absorb, and then dumping the excess products onto the market and on fairly low prices. It was the Trump White House that started charging more for Chinese imports. And even though as a candidate, he promised to reverse what he called Trump's senseless policies on China tariffs, President Biden has kept most of them. The Biden administration denies the new moves will lead to more inflation

because they're more targeted. But today, the former president said they don't go far enough. The Trump campaign has floated a 10% tariff on all imports. China's eating our lunch right now. The president fired back. He said China is eating our lunch. That's what Trump said today. We've been feeding them all the time.

In Battleground, Wisconsin, car dealer Scott Kunis thinks the administration is pushing EVs too hard, but he supports what President Biden did today. Leveling the playing field across the board is important, especially when we have the Chinese government subsidizing their EV production. In response, China's commerce minister said today the U.S. is weaponizing trade issues, calling it political manipulation. Lester. All right, Gabe Gutierrez of the White House, thank you. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced visit to Ukraine today with a strong message of American support as Russia mounts a new offensive. Andrea Mitchell has late developments for us. Tonight, the Russians advancing from

Ukraine's northeast border. A desperate race to evacuate thousands of Ukrainians on the outskirts of Kharkiv. She says they are shooting from everywhere. Yesterday, there was a hit in the front of our house burned down. Ukraine forced to retreat in recent months, waiting for Congress to approve weapons. Now trying to hold the line in villages north of Kharkiv. Secretary of State Blinken arriving in Kyiv today, even taking time to jump on stage with a local band, playing rockin' in the free world. President Zelensky expressing gratitude,

but saying his country still needs air defense against the Russian barrage, specifically Patriot missile batteries. Air defense is the biggest deficit for us, for the Kharkiv region, because the people are under attack. Secretary Blinken saying the assistance is on its way. Some of it's already arrived, more of it will be arriving, and that's going to make a real difference. But the U.S. says it doesn't have enough Patriot missile launchers and is working with other countries to send theirs, while Russia is getting critical support from Iran, North Korea and China.

Putin is ramping up yet another offensive against Ukraine in Kharkiv and across the east, sending wave after wave of Russian soldiers, Iranian drones, North Korean artillery and tanks. And this week, President Putin, riding the wave of recent advances in Ukraine, will meet with President Xi in Beijing and will discuss the war. Lester. Andrea Mitchell, thanks. In 60 seconds, what's behind a wild run in the stock markets? How a post on social media sent some stocks rocketing higher today. We'll explain right after this. They are back, the so-called meme stocks that shook up the market a few years ago, surging again. AMC up more than 30 percent, GameStop up 60 percent,

all because of one cryptic post on social media. Christine Romans explains. This picture on social media. Christine Romans explains. This picture on social media posted by a guy called Roaring Kitty after nearly three years of silence did this on Wall Street. GameStop, which is soaring another 57% this morning, over 7 million shares of volume. This afternoon, AMC and BlackBerry joining GameStop in an eye-watering surge. There's no fundamental reason for these stocks to suddenly move 50, 60, 70 percent. It's a speculative run. Absolutely. There's no fundamental reason even for some of them to have been worth

what they were worth last week. An echo of 2021 when unloved stocks like GameStop soared as much as a thousand percent, propelled by an almost cult-like social media following of this guy. The first stock that I'm going to talk about is GameStop. That's Keith Gill, a.k.a. Roaring Kitty, featured in the movie Dumb Money, which told the story of those amateur investors sticking it to the Wall Street pros. How much did we make today? Five million. How much did we lose today? A billion. It wasn't just a get-rich-quick scheme. Amateur investors online also championed what they saw as a revolt against Wall Street. But experts say the real way to beat Wall Street is to get rich slowly.

What Wall Street actually hates isn't a meme stock. What they actually hate is people basically buying and holding index funds, kind of being very passive, doing the financially smart things that work over decades. For most investors, boring is better. Choose low-cost index funds, keep management fees to a minimum, and check your retirement accounts twice a year. Christine Romans, NBC News.

When we return, the next chapter in the battle over the role of the public library in a town called Metropolis, next. Back now with the culture wars playing out in small-town America, a battle being waged between a church and a library in a place they call the hometown of Superman. Antonia Hilton has our report. Superman looms large in the otherwise unassuming quiet town of Metropolis, Illinois. But there is a fight brewing over the town library that locals worry even the Man of Steel couldn't resolve.

We've got to protect one to protect them all. Everyone needs to just stand up. Rhonda James never imagined being president of this small town library board would be controversial. She says, I did not bring my children to the library for religious indoctrination. In the winter, she started receiving letters saying her library director prayed with children, pushed Christianity, and had quietly removed computers and thousands of books with themes about sexual identity, other religions, and even Halloween. In all the years that you've been on the library board, have you ever received letters like these?

No. The board confronted the library director, who answered NBC affiliate WPSD when asked if the library censored materials. Absolutely not. Board members say they asked her to sign a form promising to end prayer in the library. When she refused, the board terminated her, further fueling a small town's battle in the library. When she refused, the board terminated her, further fueling a small town's battle over its library. The libraries have things that come straight out of Sodom and

Gomorrah. This is Brian Anderson, a town councilman and pastor, preaching to his congregation, which includes the mayor, that Satan was in the library. These children that you see here, the enemy hates them. And the enemy wants to kill them. Typically, Baptist pastor Glenn Corum says he agrees with other conservative ministers on moral issues, but not this one. You've got someone who's pushing to enforce religious agreement on a public institution. Should the local library reflect the views of the majority? No, I don't think so.

The library opens up the world to entirely different ways of thought. In March, Metropolis Mayor Don Canada sided with Pastor Anderson and announced he'd remove library board members, a step the Illinois Secretary of State called unacceptable. The mayor paused his plans. Do you think that prayer is appropriate in the public library? Well, now, it depends. Yeah.

I'm going to say that if you're asking me, do I think it's all right? If it was approved by everybody involved, then I don't see what the problem is. At a public town meeting, council member and pastor Brian Anderson declined to speak with us. No comment, man. Anybody know that? But pastor Brian Anderson declined to speak with us. But people there had plenty to say about him. His behavior has consequences that go on beyond the library. The mayor now has until June to make a decision about the library board. Rhonda James left worried about her fate and her community. We want to have freedom to practice whatever religion we want or to not

practice religion. We want to have the freedom to gather information and learn things. For the love of the library, she says she'll stand her ground. Antonia Hilton, NBC News, Metropolis, Illinois. That's nightly news for this Tuesday. Thank you for watching. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night.