aid will soon begin flowing into gaza through a new pier constructed by the u.s. military. after months of intense fighting in the israel-hamas war, more than a million people are in critical need according to the u.n. and a terrifying day at california's state capitol. workers evacuated after a package was delivered containing a suspicious substance labeled as anthrax. it was later found to be harmless. for more, download the cbs news app on your cell phone or connected tv. i'm carissa lawson, cbs news, new york. it's friday, may 17th, 2024. this is "cbs news mornings." >> we all took cover in the bathroom. windows blowing out. >> breaking overnight, a dangerous and deadly storm tears across the south. the damage extensive.

roads impassable, schools are closed, and people are urged to stay home. good morning, and good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. that powerful storm system pummelled the houston area leaving a trail of destruction that will take some time to clean up. at least four people are dead. most of them by falling trees. blown-out glass from highrise buildings littered the streets. power is out to nearly 900,000 homes and businesses. now the ferocious storms are moving across louisiana where at least one tornado was reported. cbs' jarred hill is joining us with the latest. what a mess. these people need a break. >> gosh, there are also reports of tornadoes in texas. we're still waiting on confirmation on that. what we know right now is that it could take days to restore power after those severe storms battered the southeastern part of the stat. overnight, texas taking a major hit as severe storms tore

through the houston area. >> we have a storm with 100 mile-per-hour winds. the equivalent of hurricane ike. >> reporter: winds so strong they shattered skyscraper windows downtown. >> we all took cover in the bathroom. windows blown out, trees flying everywhere. it was crazy. >> reporter: at the houston astros covered ballpark, video shows rain blowing inside. >> telling us to take shelter. >> what i want to emphasize is stay at home. houstonians, stay at home tonight. >> reporter: houston's mayor with the warning as he confirmed the storms claimed the lives of at least four people. >> the initial indications were that falling trees caused two of the fatalities. one was a crane accident, as well, that was blown over by the wind, the strong winds. >> reporter: transformers exploded throughout the city. utility lines a tangled mess. at one point more than a million power outages were reported

between texas and louisiana alone. houston area schools are closed today. about an hour northwest in already water-logged bryan, texas, more rain meant more flooding, and the threat of high water continues. parts of louisiana are bracing for a weekend of severe storms, as well. the national weather service is warning of dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding. and i can't help but think that we're not even in hurricane season yet. >> we're not? oh, man. it's going to be a long, long summer. thank you very much. donald trump's so-called hush-money trial is off today so the former president can attend his son baron's high school graduation. when court resumes on monday, though, trump's former fixer, michael cohen, will return to the stand for a fourth day. yesterday he faced hours of intense questioning with defense attorneys accusing him of lying. bradley blackburn reports. >> reporter: on day 18 of former president donald trump's hush-money trial, the defense

pressed michael cohen about his history of lying under oath and his criminal record. they're trying to convince jurors that trump's onetime lawyer and fixer was lying again when he linked trump to hush-money payments to adult film star stormy daniels and to falsifying business records to cover it up. >> the more that the defense spends cross examining michael cohen, the more i think this really is their case and their theory which is if you don't believe michael cohen, if you think he lied, then don't convict. >> reporter: in one effort thursday to raise doubts and argue that cohen sought revenge against trump, defense attorney todd blanche played comments from cohen's podcast. >> you better believe i want this man to go down and rot inside for what he did to me and my family. >> reporter: cohen was sentenced to three years in prison amid the fallout of a federal investigation related to his payments to daniels. although he admitted to violating campaign finance laws, cohen says he was wrongly charged with tax evasion. trump has pleaded not guilty to

34 felony counts. the presumptive 2024 republican nominee has repeatedly called the trial election interference. >> it was a very interesting day. a fascinating day. and it shows what a scam this whole thing is. >> reporter: cross-examination of cohen is set to continue monday, and closing arguments could begin early next week. bradley blackburn, cbs news, new york. president biden is blocking the release of audio recordings linked to his classified documents probe. the white house says biden is asserting executive privilege over the recordings claiming republicans in congress only want the audio so they can chop it up and use it for political purposes. house republicans have subpoenaed the tapes and threatened to hold attorney general merrick garland in contempt of congress for refusing to hand them over. the interview conducted with special counsel robert hur sparked a political firestorm in february by casting mr. biden as, quote, an elderly man with a poor memory.

the gold bars at the heart of new jersey senator bob menendez's bribery trial were on full display thursday. prosecutors showed jurors these two gold bars and several $100 bills that were confiscated from menendez's home. the couple is accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from three new jersey businessmen for political favors. meantime, senator menendez revealed in a statement thursday that his wife, nadine, is battling breast cancer and will undergo a mastectomy. a judge had previously postponed her trial until later this summer after learning about a medical issue. turning now to the war in gaza. israel says that it's sending more troops into the southern city of rafah as fighting also rages in the northern part of the territory. the israeli military says it's launching an investigation into a friendly fire incident that killed five soldiers. the idf says they were hit by tank crossfire in jabalia where hamas has regrouped.

arab leaders want u.n. peacekeepers deployed in palestinian territories until a two-state solution is reached. the 22-member group met in bahrain for the arab league summit where they issued a declaration also calling for all palestinian factions to join under the umbrella of the plo. and the first shipment of badly needed humanitarian aid rolled across the u.s.' newly built floating pier off the gaza strip this morning. cbs' imtiaz tyab reports from tel aviv. >> reporter: with the massive u.s. military-constructed pier now in position, hundreds of tons of desperately needed aid will start arriving in gaza, and the aid can't come soon enough for the almost two million displaced and for those facing famine. for 10-year-old somya, who lost her arm in an israeli air strike, what she needs is advanced medical care. "i want the border crossings open," she says, "so i can get a

new arm and be like everyone else." also trapped inside gaza are around 20 american medics, doing all they can while they wait to be allowed to go home after the two main crossings in the south were closed. we reached dr. mahmoud sabha from texas and nurse monica johnson from oregon. >> so you know, we came in with such good intentions obviously, and wanting to help and save lives. we haven't had a single wound patient in the ucu that has made it out. >> reporter: not a single one? >> no. >> reporter: most of their patients are kids. >> she had glitter on her fingernails. she had this colored hair. these things -- it really affects you because the -- you see the innocence. >> they're broken, and they are empty. so the thought of leaving them and -- you know, leaving them while they're so empty is

heartbreaking. >> reporter: and major divisions in israel's war cabinet have now spilled out into the open. the defense minister has accused the government of not having a clear plan for gaza the day after the war ends with a defiant prime minister benjamin netanyahu refusing to rule out whether israel will reoccupy the devastated palestinian territory. imtiaz tyab, cbs news, tel aviv. preparations are under way at morehouse college in georgia where president biden will be speaking at the commencement ceremony this weekend. fences began going up around the campus ahead of biden's visit as concerns built for possible protests. some students and faculty have challenged leaders of the historically black university to rescind the president's invitation over his administration's response to the war between hamas and israel. the school's president warned he will halt graduation ceremonies

if demonstrations erupt. coming up, questions about a divisive symbol at the home of supreme court justice samuel alito. we'll have his response. and fallout from a controversial speech by a kansas city chiefs kicker. how the league is responding. this is "cbs news mornings." black lives. when my doctor gave me breztri for my copd things changed for me. breztri gave me better breathing, symptom improvement, and reduced flare-ups. breztri won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. it is not for asthma.

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a man who killed a black lives matter protester is pardoned, and questions about a display at the home of supreme court justice. those are some of the headlines on the "morning newsstand." "the new york times" says a "stop the steal" symbol was on display at justice samuel alito's home after the 2020 election. the paper published a photo of this inverted american flag which it said was seen at alito's home in alexandria, virginia, on january 17th, 2021. the upside down flag is a symbol used by some trump supporters who challenge the legitimacy of joe biden's 2020 victory.

alito told the "times" he wasn't involved and said the flag was briefly put up by his wife. the paper found in interviews with neighbors that his wife was having a dispute with neighbors who had put up an anti-trump sign with an expletive on their front lawn. "the texas tribune" reports governor greg abbott pardoned a man who killed a black lives mtter demonstrator in 2020. daniel perry had been sentenced to 25 years in prison for shooting and killing garrett foster during a protest in austin. he admitted to shooting foster who was also armed at the time. perry's attorneys argued the shooting was in self-defense, but witnesses said foster never raised his weapon before he was shot. and "the washington post" reports president biden supports the justice department's measure to reclassify marijuana. biden released a video on social media yesterday saying he plans to relax the restrictions around cannabis so it will not be included in the same group as drugs like heroin. he would not be legalizing it

federally, though. in his message, biden said far too many lives have been up-ended because of a failed approach to marijuana. still to come, an emotional day at the beach. a lost girl gets help and comfort from a kind-hearted cop. here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need... ...without the stuff you don't. so, here's to now. boost. ♪♪ are you tired of your hair breaking after waiting years for it to grow? meet new pantene pro-v miracles. with our highest concentration of pro-vitamins yet, infused with ingredients like biotin & collagen. strengthens hair bonds and repairs

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the tea was sold nationwide, and if you have it, toss it in the trash. you can thank grandmas everywhere for the latest sweet treat from mcdonald's. the company is rolling out the new grandma mcflurry. mcdonald's describes it as the epitome of sweetness thanks to the candy pieces you'll find when you dig in. similar to the ones you may have found in your grandmother's purse when you were a kid. the new mcflurry flavor goes on sale next week for a limited time. that's your cbs "moneywatch" report for this friday morning. i'm carissa lawson, cbs news, new york. >> but what's the flavor? i got to know. i guess that's how they're going to get me to buy one. next, bell bottom country. a country music favorite takes the top award at last night's acms. things i love. then i found a chance to let in the lyte.” discover caplyta. unlike some medicines that only treat bipolar i,

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here's a look at the forecast in some cities around the country. ♪ and the acm award goes to lainey wilson! [ cheers ] ♪ >> lainey wilson was the big winner at last night's academy of country music awards. the "heart like a truck" singer took home female artist of the year and the top prize of entertainer of the year. music event of the year -- the

music event of the year was also -- also went to wilson and el -- jelly roll for his hit "save me". chris stapleton took home album and male artist of the year. and luke combs, most nominated of the year, won for "fast car." the nfl is responding to comments some call controversial made by kansas city chiefs kicker harrison butker during a commencement speech at benedictine college which is a private catholic school. >> i think it is you, the women, who have the most diabolical lies told to you. how many of you are sitting here now about to cross this stage and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career? some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but i would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world. >> the nfl said in a statement to cbs that it doesn't hold his views saying harrison butker gave a speech in his personal capacity.

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wake upment it's friday you made it. good morning, everybody. thank you for joining us, may 17th. >> we are so glad you are here so let's get started. >> i was personally destroying our community. right? and now i have an opportunity to build up our community. and that's what i came out here to do. that's my mission to build up the community. >> a second chance in life to do the right thing. this man just one part of a new alternative to help the homeless in san francisco. anytime that i see developments in ai particularly as they relate to voice, it concerns me for independent ar