tonight, the dramatic showdown at donald trump's hush money trial. michael cohen testifying against his former boss. mr. trump's former fixer turned foe, michael cohen, taking the stand for his highly anticipated testimony, telling the jury mr. trump directed him to pay off stormy daniels to keep quiet about their alleged affair to protect his 2016 campaign. cohen saying mr. trump told him, "just take care of it." the defense preparing to attack cohen's credibility after calling him an admitted liar. and the secret tape cohen made of trump played for the jury. also tonight, the race to escape rafah. 360,000 people fleeing as israeli forces advance on the southern gaza city. terrifying moments at a louisiana church during a livestreamed service. a teen with a gun stopped as he tries to get into the building

with 60 children inside for their first communion. severe weather from texas to florida. we're tracking it. wildfire smoke from canada moving into the u.s. air quality alerts in multiple states. pro-palestinian protests disrupting some graduations. jerry seinfeld's speech at duke prompting dozens to walk out. just in, the dramatic controlled demolition of a massive piece of baltimore's collapsed bridge. and the most stunning images from that spectacular show in the sky. >> announcer: this is nbc "nightly news" with lester holt. good evening and welcome. the prosecution case against donald trump nearing its crescendo in a new york courtroom tonight, with the much-anticipated testimony of former trump lawyer and fixer michael cohen. cohen describing his role in trying to bury stormy daniels's claim of a sexual liaison with mr. trump and his concerns about its impact on the 2016 election, driving

cohen to pay hush money to daniels that he says was at mr. trump's direction. he wasn't thinking about melania. this was all about the campaign, cohen testified. the former president denies he had sex with daniels and has pleaded not guilty to falsifying business records to disguise the hush money payments. cohen facing a second day on the stand tomorrow, later followed by what could be a contentious cross-examination by the defense. laura jarrett breaks down the day in court. >> reporter: tonight a highly anticipated courtroom showdown. prosecutors' star witness michael cohen, former president trump's self-described fixer turned fierce critic, telling the jury mr. trump directed him to pay off an adult film actress days before the 2016 election to protect his campaign. >> is michael cohen a liar? >> reporter: everything required mr. trump's sign-off, cohen told the jury, testifying mr. trump was furious in 2016

when he learned stormy daniels was still trying to sell her story of sex with the former president, telling cohen, "i thought you had this under control." cohen explaining he'd managed to suppress daniels' story years before but it resurfaced on the heels of the "access hollywood" tape and cohen feared if daniels went public it would be, quote, catastrophic for the campaign, saying mr. trump told him "just take care of it. this is a disaster. women are going to hate me. guys may think this is cool but this is going to be a disaster for the campaign." cohen said mr. trump told him he met daniels at a golf tournament, describing her as a beautiful woman. mr. trump has denied he had sex with daniels and pleaded not guilty to charges of illegally disguising his reimbursement checks to cohen as legal expenses on his internal books and records. the defense team arguing there was no crime, that cohen was his personal attorney at the time, handling a personal matter to avoid his family embarrassment. former trump aide hope

hicks previously testifying mr. trump did not want newspapers with details of a hush money payment to a different woman delivered to their home. but cohen suggesting today that mr. trump wasn't concerned about melania's reaction. "he wasn't thinking about melania. this was all about the campaign." cohen adding mr. trump told him, "i want you to just push it out as long as you can. just get past the election. because if i win it will have no relevance and if i lose i don't even care." cohen testifying that he told mr. trump he would pay daniels as part of a non-disclosure agreement, opting to use money from a home equity line of credit, and mr. trump was appreciative, saying words to the effect of "don't worry, you'll get the money back." the state trying to show the daniels payoff wasn't isolated but part of a pattern. cohen admitting he secretly recorded his client while they discussed repaying the "national enquirer," which purchased the story of another woman who said she had sex with mr. trump, which he denies.

>> when it comes time for the financing, which will be -- >> wait a sec, what financing? >> well, i'll have to pay him something. >> pay with cash. >> reporter: prosecutors have presented no direct evidence mr. trump knew about or told anyone to falsify business records. so cohen's credibility here, key. telling jurors today mr. trump never used e-mail because "too many people have gone down" once prosecutors obtain their e-mails. cohen now a disbarred attorney who has been convicted for lying under oath. the defense argues he's out for revenge after he didn't get a job in the white house. today cohen testifying he would have liked to have been considered for white house chief of staff for his, quote, ego. >> there's no fraud here. there's no crime here. this is four weeks of keeping me from not campaigning. >> laura, michael cohen's testimony seemed to be moving pretty quickly today. >> reporter: lester,

so rapidly in fact that we could see his cross-examination as soon as tomorrow. we saw the prosecution trying to get ahead of some of the defense lines of questioning, trying to prerebut them, if you will. but no doubt this cross-examination will be brutal as the defense team is likely to focus on his past convictions for lying and credibility issues, trying to argue that michael cohen is essentially using his attacks on the former boss as his meal ticket. lester? >> laura jarrett in lower manhattan. thank you. in the middle east israel is now battling hamas militants that have regrouped in northern gaza. meanwhile, 360,000 people have fled rafah in the south. richard engel is in israel with more. >> reporter: israel thought it had defeated hamas in northern gaza. but the militants have regrouped and are now fighting from the rubble. once the government of gaza that triggered a war when they stormed into israel and carried out a massacre, hamas has become an insurgency. and as the united states learned in afghanistan and iraq,

insurgencies can last for decades. in southern gaza israel is expanding military operations in rafah despite warnings from president biden about the risk to civilians. israel claims hamas rafah des from president biden about the risk to civilians. has four battalions of fighters in rafah and has ordered the evacuation of large sections of the city. the u.n. says around 360,000 people have already left. for most it's not the first time. >> that's the sixth time i evacuate from anywhere i was in. i feel so lost. >> reporter: this time israel is telling palestinians to go to an area on the mediterranean coast. but palestinians say there's nothing for them there. no tents, no food, no future. >> are we going to like keep living in this ongoing loop? >> reporter: our crew

found these men packing up pieces of their own bombed-out home so they could build shelters with the debris. while hamas fighters are nowhere to be seen. they brought this war to gaza but now provide no services and no help. they've gone underground, ready for a long insurgency. apparently at any cost. >> richard, what does it say that hamas has been able to regroup in the north? >> reporter: well, it raises very troubling questions about israel's current strategy. it shows that hamas has been able to rearm its fighters, find new fighting positions, and could maintain a guerrilla war for a very long time. lester? >> richard engel, thanks. in louisiana dramatic moments when parishioners acted fast to stop a teen with a gun from entering a church with 60 children inside. here's blayne alexander. ♪ >> reporter: it was the most sacred of spaces at st. mary magadelene church in abbeville, louisiana 60 children were poised to take their

first communion saturday. >> that this sacrament -- >> reporter: when suddenly a man approaches the priest, whispering in his ear. moments later father nicholas dupree abruptly stops the service. [ screaming ] as chaos erupts. according to church officials, a suspicious person opened the back door. members immediately confronted him and led him outside, calling police. authorities say he was armed with a gun. inside, the video shows clergy members ducking for cover, altar servers scrambling to safety as police rush in, guns drawn, checking for any additional threat. >> just get a hold of your child. go slowly. >> reporter: the suspect was a 16-year-old white male, police say, dressed in all black. he was arrested, then taken to a hospital for mental evaluation, charged with terrorizing and two counts of juvenile gun possession. incredibly, police say, there were no injuries.

>> hallelujah. >> reporter: but at today's service the scars were clear. it bears a shocking similarity to yet another close call last week at a pittsburgh church, when a man approached the pulpit and aimed directly at the pastor, who was spared, police say, only when the gun jammed. back in louisiana the church plans to have law enforcement stand guard at every service going forward. as more houses of worship are forced to mix the power of prayer with the presence of police. blayne alexander, nbc news. we are watching for more severe weather tonight. a brilliant lightning strike captured in houston as a very large hail storm pelted parts of texas. bill karins is here. bill, we're going to see more of that sort of thing tonight? >> unfortunately, yeah. the gulf coast can't catch a break. we've already seen isolated reports of tornadoes. a lot of wind damage, especially in areas of louisiana with this

line of storms rolling through. so severe thunderstorm watch goes through this evening. i'm watching this line of storms that just went through lake charles. 60-mile-per-hour wind gusts, up to 80-mile-per-hour winds are possible. along interstate 10 here as it heads towards lafayette we'll watch and see if that holds together this evening as it approaches baton rouge and the new orleans area. besides that it's been raining so much, so often, it doesn't take much to get flash flooding. we have flash flood warnings out there. 8 million people impacted. and unfortunately tomorrow we're going to do more severe weather. but this time in areas of north florida and southern georgia. >> all right, bill, thank you. we turn now to the demonstrations on campus. pro-palestinian protesters disrupting some commencements this weekend, including at duke, where jerry seinfeld was the speaker. here's stephanie gosk. ♪ >> reporter: a moment to celebrate achievement becoming another chance to . after a turbulent spring multiple universities facing disruption at graduation. including duke. dozens of students

walked out on jerry seinfeld's commencement address sunday. the comedian was later cheered. [ crowd chanting "jerry" ] >> i say use your privilege. i grew up a jewish boy from new york. that is a privilege if you want to be a comedian. >> reporter: after the initial hamas attack of october 7th seinfeld posted on instagram, "i will always stand with israel and the jewish people," and visited the country back in december to show his support. duke releasing a statement that says in part, "we respect the right of everyone at duke to express their views peacefully, without preventing graduates and their families from celebrating their achievement." in southern california pomona chose a new location for graduation. protesters blocked the entrances. campuses have been dealing with scenes like this since october 7th. >> we deserve to know what our university's invested in. >> for many jewish students on campus we feel unsafe including myself.

>> reporter: in a new survey 67% of students at the country's top schools say antisemitism is a problem and 38% say they feel unsafe. now graduation ceremonies are flashpoints. >> with the school year ending it's probably the last big audience for the student movement to express its opposition to the war in gaza. >> reporter: nyu professor robert cohen studies student activism. >> what is the challenge for universities going into a new school year next fall? >> if there is a cease-fire, then i think obviously this will dissipate. if it continues, i think the university needs to find a way to be able to engage the students rather than kind of exile them. >> reporter: until then at some schools a difficult year is coming to a difficult close. stephanie gosk, nbc news. in 60 seconds, the dramatic explosion just carried out to bring parts of the collapsed bridge in baltimore up. right after this. ltimore up. right after this. will it get worse? how common is it? who can i talk to? can this be treated? stop typing. start talking to a specialized urologist. because it could be peyronie's disease, or pd.

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today on a section of the bridge still atop the ship that knocked it down. george solis has late details. >> reporter: with a reverberating boom, a major section of the collapsed francis scott key bridge disappearing in a cloud of smoke. the controlled demolition comes after weeks of careful planning to remove a massive piece of the bridge that's sitting on top of the 984-foot container ship. >> captain, did everything go according to plan? >> yes. so we did the blast. the section separated. so it went according to plan. >> reporter: demolition crews made small cuts into the steel, then placed small charges to ensure accuracy of the blasts. the "dali" has been sitting essentially frozen in time since it lost power and rammed the bridge on march 26th. new camera footage obtained by nbc news shows the shock of first responders that night. >> like there is no bridge. >> reporter: six people were killed, all latino immigrants who were filling

potholes when the collision occurred. the body of the final victim was found just last week. the ship's 21-member crew has remained on board and sheltered in place during the controlled explosion. federal investigators are still looking into how and why the ship lost power. but tonight the governor says the port of baltimore is close to fully reopening, vowing to rebuild. >> rebuilding the francis scott key bridge is not about nostalgia. it's about necessity. this is a critical artery. >> reporter: the "dali" will be refloated and moved back to the port of baltimore within a few days. now, the goal is to fully reopen the channel by the end of the month. lester? >> okay, george solis, thank you. up next, intense wildfires in canada, and the new smoke threat. and the unseen danger. some firefighters' gear has chemicals connected with cancer. that's next. danger. some firefighters' gear has chemicals connected with cancer. that's next. i'm out of breath, and often out of the picture. but this is my story. ( ♪♪ ) and with once-daily trelegy, it can still be beautiful.

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we're back now with the wildfires raging in canada and the air concerns here in the u.s. about 140 fires are burning across canada, and the smoke is drifting south, prompting air quality alerts in minnesota, wisconsin and iowa. in british columbia one rapidly spreading fire has forced thousands to evacuate. also tonight, san francisco is on the verge of something historic. tomorrow it could become the first u.s. city to ban some types of firefighter uniforms out of fear their protective chemicals may cause cancer. bigad shaban of our bay area station has more. >> water coming.

>> reporter: lieutenant magaly saade is teaching the next generation of san francisco firefighters about what to expect on the front lines. >> there you go. >> our whole job is to work under pressure. manage your emotions and your fears and get the job done. >> reporter: regardless of how dangerous it may be. >> regardless. >> reporter: that includes the risks they can see. and the ones they can't. saade is a two-time cancer survivor. here in san francisco female firefighters have a six times higher rate of breast cancer than the national average. for first responders ongoing exposure to smoke and other chemicals is so serious the w.h.o. classifies firefighting as carcinogenic. and in recent years studies have shown even the pants and jackets firefighters wear are made with materials known to cause cancer, so-called pfas are added to fire clothing to repel flammable liquids and resist extreme heat. they're known as

forever chemicals because they don't easily break down once absorbed in the skin. >> to put something in the equipment to people who are already there to risk their life for you seems really malicious. >> we're tired, and we're dying. >> reporter: on the steps of san francisco's city hall behind a mound of uniforms firefighters and lawmakers recently announced plans to enact a first in the nation ban on protective gear manufactured with forever chemicals. >> it is morally right and it's financially right. >> reporter: the alternative gear that doesn't use pfas still isn't widely available even though the potential health hazards have been known for years. the firefighters union blames industry standards released by the national fire protection association, saying they favor the use of fabrics that contain forever chemicals. in a lawsuit the firefighters union accuses the nfpa of being reckless and deceptive, which the nfpa denies, calling the allegations misguided and ill-informed. the nfpa tells us it doesn't create or dictate standards but instead relies on expert volunteers, including the

firefighting community. new pfas-free uniforms are now being tested at fire departments in at least five cities, including san francisco. where firefighters say so far they're just as effective repelling flames. >> so that char goes all the way through. >> reporter: chemists at nc state are currently testing if those alternative fabrics are reliable with long-term use. >> we don't want to just trade one hazard for another. >> you can break it down. >> reporter: lieutenant saade says she's fighting for pfas-free uniforms so firefighters can focus on saving lives instead of worrying about their own. >> this would affect the future. and if it changes and legislation goes forward, then yeah, then it was all worth it. >> reporter: bigad shaban, nbc news, san francisco. and up next, our eyes turn to the sky. the best images from that stunning light show in space. show in spac. i'd made some progress on my antidepressant...

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they can translate foreign finally, the spectacular light show seen around the world and the rare solar storm that made it happen. here's liz kreutz. >> reporter: when you think of the northern lights, you probably don't think of baker, florida, wendover, utah or san rafael, california. >> look at that. >> reporter: but for a brief moment this weekend a trek towards the north pole wasn't necessary in order to see this stunning natural wonder. >> i can't believe what i'm seeing. >> reporter: sightings of the northern lights, called the aurora borealis,

reported across all 50 states. >> it's amazing. >> reporter: the striking pink and green hues the result of a severe solar storm that slammed earth, leading to colorful bursts of electromagnetic radiation from the sun. the last time there was a tomorrow this size was 2003, before iphones and social media. >> the most beautiful thing i have ever seen. >> it was beautiful. >> reporter: around the world sky gazers also reporting rare sightings. at the university of manchester in the uk. in brocken, germany. and yes, at the great wall of china. like the recent total eclipse, this breathtaking glow again bringing so many of us together. making our massive planet feel simultaneously more magical and yet interconnected than ever before. liz kreutz, nbc news. >> a lot of reasons to look up lately. that's "nightly news" for this monday. thank you for watching. i'm lester holt. please take care of

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finally on the job. the city has been without a chief for more than a year. so what's it going to take to unify the department and tackle a rise in crime? also, more worries over the bird flu outbreak in dairy cows spreading to humans. why? the warning now includes a particular type of milk. once upon a time in a world not too different from ours. impressive and