Good Thursday afternoon. Stormy Daniels sparred with Donald Trump’s attorneys today during her cross-examination, 32 million people are under a severe weather threat, and the family of an Air Force airman is demanding answers after he was fatally shot by a deputy in his own apartment. Here is what’s in our Nightly Rundown. |
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Stormy Daniels defiant as Trump’s attorneys question her motives |
Stormy Daniels, the adult film star at the center of Donald Trump’s hush money trial, clashed today with his attorneys, who suggested she had extorted the former president during a tense cross-examination. During the combative questioning, Trump’s attorney Susan Necheles accused Daniels of altering her account of the alleged one-night stand with Trump. “Your story has completely changed,” Necheles said. Daniels maintained that it has not. “You’re trying to make me say that it changed, but it hasn’t changed at all.” Trump is accused of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to Daniels to keep quiet about the affair to help his 2016 campaign. He denies the affair and the charges. After Daniels concluded her testimony, prosecutors called a Trump Organization bookkeeper and a publishing company executive to testify. For the latest updates in the Trump hush money trial, visit our NBC News live blog. |
Severe weather threat across South after storms leave three dead |
Tornado watches are in effect this afternoon in parts of Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina, on the heels of a deadly weather outbreak across the Southeast. Some 32 million people remain in the risk zone for severe storms tonight, including the cities of Dallas, Austin, Shreveport, Baton Rouge, Mobile, Tallahassee and Atlanta. At least 13 tornadoes were reported across the mid-Mississippi Valley and the Tennessee Valley on Wednesday, including four in Tennessee. One person was killed when a suspected tornado struck in Columbia, Tennessee, south of Nashville, authorities said. Two other people were killed when trees fell on cars in Tennessee and North Carolina, according to officials. |
Air Force airman killed by Florida deputy responding to wrong apartment, attorney says |
A Florida sheriff's deputy who fatally shot an Air Force airman last week had entered the wrong apartment while responding to a disturbance call, an attorney for the airman’s family said. Senior Airman Roger Fortson was alone in his apartment on a FaceTime video call with a woman when he heard aggressive knocking at the door, his family’s attorney Ben Crump said. When he didn’t see anyone out of the peephole, Fortson went to retrieve his legally-owned gun, but as he was walking back to the living room, police burst through the door and shot him six times, according to Crump’s account. The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office said that “our deputy responded to a call of a disturbance in progress where he encountered an armed man,” and the deputy shot him. The deputy has been placed on administrative leave while the incident is under investigation, the sheriff’s office said. |
Israel outraged by Biden’s threat to cut off weapons over Rafah |
Israeli officials are reacting with anger, after President Joe Biden warned he would cut off weapons aid if Israel's military moves forward with a long-planned ground assault on Rafah, the city in southern Gaza where more than 1 million Palestinians are sheltering. Biden delivered his ultimatum on Wednesday, saying that if Israel goes into Rafah, “I’m not supplying the weapons.” In reaction, Israel’s right-wing National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted on social media, “Hamas [loves] Biden,” with a heart emoji. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not directly comment on Biden’s warning, but reposted a video from a speech he delivered earlier this week saying: “If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone.” The Israeli military said today it has all the munitions it needs for operations in Rafah and elsewhere. |
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What else we're watching: |
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Watch us this evening at 6:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. CT on NBC, or check your local NBC station listing. After the broadcast, access Nightly News video on NBCNightlyNews.com or the NBC News app. |
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