to the jury and within hours the bell rings in court, the first note from the jury requesting key testimony read back to them. what their request could signal in the donald trump criminal trial. then an hour later, the request regarding the judge's instructions to the jury and what all of this being mean. also developing this hour, the close call on the runway, an american airlines passenger jet barreling down the runway at 110 miles per hour seconds from takeoff. air traffic control calling on them to abort. another plane in the path. tonight, supreme court justice samuel alito refusing to recuse himself from cases involving january 6th despite the flag seen for a time flying outside both of his homes. tonight, he's putting the responsibility entirely on his wife. tonight, the new turn the world's number one golfer arrested in louisville, now the charges dropped amid the release of new body camera video and what it shows. there's also word coming in, the shooting at a very busy kroger's grocery store. police racing to the scene. what they revealed moments ago. the deadly house explosion and fire tonight. authorities now saying at least two people have been killed. tonight, the new severe weather threat as we come on the air across multiple states, possible tornadoes, damaging winds, then the dangerous storms taking aim tomorrow. "america strong" tonight. the move by major league baseball to make sure the stars of the negro league, that their stats are now part of the majors, too. also tonight, north korea dropping balloons on south korea and what was inside them. and the giant pandas on their way to america. >> david: good evening, and it's great to have you with us here on a very busy wednesday night. we do begin with the breaking news involving donald trump and his fate in the hands of the jury. they're four hours into the deliberations, the signal inside that courtroom, the bell ringing, the jury and their first note sent to the judge. with very specific requests for testimony to be read back to them. that testimony involves a meeting at trump tower a little more than a year before the 2016 election. donald trump was part of that meeting. they want to hear testimony read back from the former publisher of "the national enquirer" david pecker, and donald trump's former lawyer and fixer, michael cohen, as well, also at that meeting, and his testimony too. later, about an hour, the bell ringing again. the jury asking for the judge's instructions read again just hours after they were first delivered by the judge. dan abrams is here tonight and aaron katersky at the courthouse leading us off. >> reporter: tonight, the fate of donald trump, the first former president ever to face criminal charges, now in the hands of the jury. less than four hours into deliberations, a bell rang in court, signaling a note from the jurors. they wanted four pieces of key testimony read back to them including testimony from david pecker, the former national enquirer publisher who bought and buried stories for trump, and one from trump's former fixer michael cohen about a trump tower meeting with trump in august 2016, where prosecutors said the three men hatched a conspiracy to corrupt the 2016 election. an hour later, jurors sending a second note asking judge juan merchan to re-read instructions he delivered just hours earlier. marchan told them, as a juror you are asked to make another very important decision about another member of the community. marchan making the toint pot jurors, think of the former president as another member of the community. marchan also telling the jury, you must set aside any personal opinions or bias you might have in favor of or against the defendant and you must not allow any such opinions to influence your verdict. the jury's weighing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records that prosecutors say trump used to conceal a $130,000 hush payment to porn star stormy daniels. to keep her story from voters before the election. jurors must reach a unanimous decision of guilty on each of those counts. the jurors were given a laptop to take with them into deliberations. the computer loaded with nearly 300 pieces of evidence, including the checks trump signed to reimburse cohen, who wired daniels the money, and the invoices cohen sent that mentioned a retainer agreement that he said did not exist. merchan told the jurors they may not decide the case based solely on cohen's testimony because he's an accomplice to the alleged crime. in other words, the judge said, even if you find the testimony of michael cohen to be believable, you may not convict the defendant solely upon that testimony unless you also find that it was corroborated by other evidence. in closing arguments, defense attorney todd blanche telling the jury cohen "lied to you repeatedly," calling him the "greatest liar of all time," the "mvp of liars," and saying trump's former fixer came to the witness stand bent on revenge, with "an ax to grind." prosecutor joshua steinglass said, we didn't pick him up in a witness store. the defendant picked him as a fixer because he was willing to lie and cheat. the 12 person jury, 5 women and 7 men, includes 2 native new yorkers and 2 immigrants. there are two attorneys, a speech therapist, and a teacher. they all said they could be fair and impartial. the judge with a final message, urging them to listen to each other, but saying "you should not surrender an honest view of the evidence simply because you want the trial to end or because you're outvoted." trump speaking outside court -- >> mother teresa could not beat these charges, but we'll see. >> reporter: late today inside that courtroom, david, defense attorneys and prosecutors stood over thick stacks of transcripts, hashing out which portions of the testimony to re-read to the jury in addition to the judge's instructions. that's where the jury will pick up first thing tomorrow morning, david. >> david: aaron katersky leading us off at the courthouse, aaron, thank you. let's get to legal analyst dan abrams tonight to answer some of your questions likely at home. first of all, this was really interesting because we heard the judge instruct the jury today not to base their decision, guilty or not guilty, based solely on michael cohen. within hours they asked their first request, very specific and they want testimony not just from michael cohen, but from david pecker from "the national enquirer." how significant was that and how what do you make of how specific their requests were so early on? >> look, it tells us they're taking the prosecution's theory seriously. they're asking a lot of questions about this 2015 meeting at trump tower which prosecutors argued was the beginning of the scheme between david pecker and michael cohen and donald trump. and then three of the four requests relate to specific conversations with donald trump himself, because that's one of the critical questions in the case is exactly what did donald trump know about this, not what was michael cohen doing, but what did donald trump know? so it's interesting if the jurors now laser focused on those meetings where donald trump was present or on the phone. >> the bell goes off in the courtroom, that was their first request. there were four parts to that request. an hour later, the bell rings again. they want the jury instructions from the judge read back to them again just hours later. a lot of folks at home might say, does this mean there's disagreement inside the jury room or does it mean they want to be clear-eyed about what it is they have to decide here? >> it could mean there's some dissension, but new york law is different than federal law in the sense the jurors don't get to take the jury instructions back with them into the jury room. so if they have any questions about what the law is they literally have to ask the judge to re-read it in court. the question is going to be exactly what is he going to re-read? but those jury instructions are critical, and that could be something that they end up fighting over at some point in the jury room. >> david: dan abrams with us here tonight. dan and aaron, our thanks to you both. we'll see you again tomorrow night. we turn to the other developing headline tonight. supreme court justice samuel alito refusing to recuse himself from cases involving january 6th despite the flags seen for a time flying outside both of his homes. tonight, he's now putting the responsibility entirely on his wife. terry moran covers the court. >> reporter: after days of calls for him to step aside from all supreme court cases stemming from january 6th because of two flags flown outside his homes, today justice samuel alito told congress he will not recuse himself. in a letter to lawmakers, alito wrote that he was not involved in the decisions to fly either of the flags at issue, and that both were raised by his wife martha ann, adding, "my wife is fond of flying flags. i am not." "the new york times" first published this photograph showing the american flag outside alito's house, flying upside down, traditionally a signal of dire emergency. "the times" says the picture was taken in january 2021, just days after the january 6th attack on the capitol. some trump supporters that day held upside-down american flags as a sign of their rejection of joe biden's election. justice alito responded to the story, blaming his wife. alito adding today, "as i have stated publicly, i had nothing whatsoever to do with the flying of the flag. i was not even aware of the upside-down flag until it was called to my attention. as soon as i saw it, i asked my wife to take it down. but for several days, she refused." the justice explaining that, "she was greatly distressed at the time due, in large part, to a very nasty neighborhood dispute." alito defending her right to freedom of speech. "my wife is a private citizen, and she possesses the same first amendment rights as every other american." but some legal experts say justice alito has a responsibility to appear impartial and that flag may have compromised him in the january 6th cases. the other flag, a pinetree flag seen in these images published by "the new york times" outside the alitos' new jersey beach home last summer, a revolutionary war flag also carried by some pro-trump supporters on january 6th. alito explained that his wife flew all kinds of flags there -- team flags, college flags, patriotic flags, and more, adding, "i was not familiar with the 'appeal to heaven' flag when my wife flew it. i was not aware of any connection between that historic flag and the 'stop the steal movement,' and neither was my wife." congressional democrats and some legal experts are saying alito's letter is not enough and it highlights the court's real problem, the justices judge themselves, and the only way to fix that is with an ethics code that is enforceable. david? >> david: terry moran at the supreme court tonight. terry, thank you. we turn now to the news of the runway on american airlines. seconds from takeoff air traffic control calling on them to abort. another plane in the path. abc's gio benitez covers aviation. >> reporter: tonight, chilling air traffic control audio capturing the drama around a close call this morning in washington, d.c. >> american 2134, cancel takeoff clearance. zero alpha alpha, go around. go around. >> rejecting the takeoff, 2134. >> zero alpha alpha, cannot go around. we are already on the ground. >> reporter: a boston-bound american airlines plane cleared for takeoff. at the same time, a king air plane was seconds from touchdown on an intersecting runway. the two planes on a collision course when air traffic controllers realized what was happening. listen again. >> american 2134, cancel takeoff clearance. zero alpha alpha, go around. go around. >> rejecting the takeoff, 2134. >> zero alpha alpha, cannot go around. we are already on the ground. >> reporter: but it was too late. that king air plane already on the ground. the two planes coming within just 1300 feet of each other. the american plane, which was rolling down that runway at 110 miles per hour, slamming on the brakes, coming to a screeching halt. >> american 2134, do you want to go back to the gate? >> we need to talk to maintenance. but, yeah, i think we were above 80 knots, so we're going to have to get an inspection. >> reporter: and david, that american plane ended up taking off four hours later. thankfully, no one was hurt. the faa says it will investigate. david? >> david: gio benitez tonight. thanks, gio. we'll turn to the major case involving world number one golfer, scottie scheffler. who you remember was arrested in louisville. the charges have now been dropped amid the release of new body camera video and what it shows. here's abc's victor oquendo. >> reporter: the images were hard to believe -- the top ranked professional golfer in the world, in handcuffs, in the middle of a major tournament. >> he's going to jail. >> reporter: tonight, nearly two weeks later, authorities in louisville, kentucky, dropping all criminal charges against scottie scheffler. >> mr. scheffler's characterization of that this was, "a big misunderstanding," is corroborated by the evidence. >> reporter: sheffler was trying to get into valhalla golf club for the second round of the pga championship, through heavy traffic, a chaotic scene after a fatal accident. this video shows scheffler pulling up to the entrance with detective bryan gillis running after him. gillis said scheffler refused to comply with his directions and dragged him with his car, injuring him and tearing his uniform. sheffler was booked on felony assault and other charges, his mug shot making headlines around the world. gillis was reprimanded for not turning on his body camera. that would have provided valuable evidence. but video posted online shows sheffler talking with a different cop, saying he wasn't aware gillis was a police officer. >> if i knew he was a police officer, i would have been much more less afraid. but panic kinda set in. as you can see, i'm still shaking. because i was afraid. i didn't know who he was. he didn't say "police, get out of the car." he just hit me with his flashlight and yelled get out of the car. >> that is scottie scheffler. i can assure you if i was in the back of that police car, i would not have been nearly as polite as he was. but that's who he is. >> reporter: scottie scheffler was not at today's hearing. in a statement he called it a severe miscommunication in a chaotic situation. he hopes to put this incident behind him and move on. david? >> david: victor oquendo reporting tonight, thank you, victor. we turn to the race for the white house. as donald trump awaits a verdict in new york, president biden making an appeal to voters in the key battleground of pennsylvania with a direct appeal to black voters in that state. first lady dr. jill biden weighing in today on this very tight race. here's our chief white house correspondent mary bruce. >> reporter: as donald trump awaits his verdict in new york, president biden today out on the trail in battleground pennsylvania, trying to shore up support with a key constituency, arguing he's breaking down barriers for black americans. >> i came today to speak the truth. the truth about promises made and promises kept. >> reporter: biden touting his accomplishments at a rally in philadelphia, from record low black unemployment to capping prescription drug costs and relieving student debt. and taking aim at trump. >> he is that landlord who denies housing applications because of the color of your skin. >> reporter: in 2020, black voters helped deliver biden the white house. but their support has slipped, down 13 points since then, according to our latest poll. the president well aware he needs their backing if he hopes to stay for a second term. >> because you voted, donald trump is defeated former president. and with your vote -- with your vote in 2024, we're gonna make donald trump a loser again. >> reporter: and tonight, first lady jill biden taking a more active role in this very tight race. she has a new children's book, but today she was also talking about what she sees as a very clear choice come november and she's certain american voters will see it, too. >> as time goes on and as people start to focus a little bit more about what's at stake and start to become educated on the issues and the differences between the two men, i believe that americans are going to choose good over evil. >> reporter: the biden campaign is planning a burst of outreach to black voters in critical states in the coming days including nevada, arizona, and michigan. while the president remained silent on trump's trial today, i'm told that will change once we have a verdict. david? >> david: mary bruce at the white house. thank you. we turn to the israeli-hamas war. weapons experts telling abc news evidence from israel's deadly strike on a camp in rafah indicate the israeli military fired an american-made bomb. video and images of weapons debris from the site suggest these fragments are consistent with a u.s.-made small-diameter bomb meant to be more precise and limit the number of civilian casualties. that strike sunday ignited a fire that killed at least 50 people and injured more than 200 others. it comes as a top idf official said just today that the war in gaza could continue for at least seven more months. tonight, north korea sending a fleet of trash-filled balloons into south korea. more than 260 balloons detected striking fear at first, but most landing harmlessly. explosives and biowarfare response teams sent to collect the debris. the incident in retaliation after south korean activists sent propaganda-filled balloons into north korea over the weekend. when we come back here tonight -- the shooting at a very busy kroger's grocery store and police racing to the scene and what we've now learned tonight. also this deadly house explosion and fire. authorities say at least two people have been killed. this new severe storm threat across multiple states, and dangerous storms again tomorrow in a moment. 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