Unleashing a barrage of bullets. A search for answers. The Kansas City ChiefsKicker Under Fire for his commencement speech, urging women to be homemakers, and blasting the lgbtq community. What the nfl is now saying. And after thieves made off with a beloved Jackie Robinson statue, the Community Coming together to help a legend rise again. Announcer this is Nbc Nightly News with lester holt. Good evening and welcome. A grueling day for donald trump accuser Michael Cohen, as the former president s lawyer worked to shake off some of the sparkle from the prosecutions star witness. Cohen has now spent a total of 14 hours on the witness stand this week, facing crossexamination by defense attorney todd blanche. Diving once more into cohens history of lies, painting him as driven by revenge and confronting him with his eagerness to see his former boss rot inside. And in a key moment, leading cohen to contradict his own testimony about a phone call he says he had with mr. Trump regarding the Hush Money Payments at the center of this case. Tonight, the trial barreling toward its conclusion, but with key decisions still to be made, including will donald trump testify . Once again, Laura Jarrett leads our coverage. Reporter tonight, star prosecution witness Michael Cohen facing a scathing second day of crossexamination, as former President Trumps defense team tries to paint him as a spurned former employee, desperate for payback. I truly [ bleep ] hope that this man ends up in prison. Reporter The Jury Hearing Cohen on his podcast, appearing in search of vengeance. Revenge is a dish best served cold, and you Better Believe i want this man to go down and rot inside for what he did to me and my family. Reporter tension in the room building to a dramatic moment. Trump attorney todd blanche Accusing Cohen of lying about a key part of his testimony. Just two days ago, cohen telling the jury unequivocally that mr. Trumps bodyguard Keith Schiller passed the phone to mr. Trump on october 24th, 2016 at 8 02 p. M. Cohen says he informed mr. Trump at the time the deal to pay off Stormy Daniels would be done. Blanche today raising his voice, saying, that was a lie. Showing the jury never before seen text messages, suggesting the call was for another purpose entirely. Cohen had earlier reached out to schiller for help dealing with a 14yearold prank caller. And schiller texted back telling cohen to call him. Logs show a Call On October 24th that lasted just 97 seconds. The defenses clear implication, the phone was never passed to mr. Trump. Cohen appearing blindsided. Blanche grilling him, that was a lie, you did not talk to President Trump. You talked to Keith Schiller. You can admit it. Cohen responding, no, sir, i dont know that its accurate. Cohen adding, i believe i also spoke to mr. Trump about the Stormy Daniels matter. Blanche shooting back, we are not asking what you believe. This jury does not want to hear what you think happened. Cohens credibility key to the states of case, as he is the only one who has testified the former president had advanced knowledge of the plan to pay off daniels to protect his campaign and then signed off on a scheme to pay cohen back, allegedly falsifying Business Records to disguise his reimbursements. Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty, as his Defense Attorneys have argued nothing was falsified, and once again challenging prosecutors theory today that the former president only cared about shielding his campaign from daniels damaging story. Blanche pushing cohen about mr. Trumps reaction the first time the former president learned of Daniels Shopping her story. Blanche asking, the first thing that President Trump said to you was that his family wouldnt like very much. Cohen saying, thats true. The selfdescribed former trump fixer turned foe maintaining his composure on the stand when pressed at length about his criminal history. Cohen has been convicted of lying under oath and disbarred. The defense arguing he has a motivation to lie now and a history of doing it. Quote, you lied under oath, correct, blanche asking him. Yes, sir, cohen says. The defense today saying cohen is also not telling the full story about his desire for a white house job, which mr. Trump never offered him. You were disappointed that after all the work you had done for President Trump for 9 1 2 years, nobody, including President Trump, offered you a position in the white house . Blanche asked. Thats not accurate, cohen said. I think it was a very interesting day. It was a fascinating day. It shows what a scam this whole thing is. Laura, lets circle back if we can for a moment. When the defense Accused Cohen of lying under oath on the phone call, was there any sense of the impact . Reporter lester, the jury was paying very close attention to that entire exchange. It was real blow to prosecutors, no doubt about it. Now, Michael Cohen will be back on the stand for more testimony on monday. Lester . All right, laura, thank you. President biden asserted Executive Privilege today to Keep Congress from getting recordings of his interview with the special counsel. Kelly odonnell is at the white house. Kelly, what was this about . Reporter lester, this goes back to the investigation of classified documents found at the biden home. No charges were filed. The special counsel, who interviewed the president , referred to him as a well meaning elderly man with a poor memory. The written transcript is public, but House Republicans want the audio recording. The president blocked that using Executive Privilege. The Attorney General recommended shielding the tapes to protect future witnesses and investigations. The white House Counsel wrote that republicans really want the tapes to use them for partisan political purposes. House speaker johnson accused the white house of being afraid for citizens to hear whats on those tapes, and separately, news organizations, including nbc are part of a lawsuit seeking the release of this audio under the freedom of information act. Lester . Kelly odonnell, thank you. Tonight, torrential downpours putting 21 Million People at risk from potentially lifethreatening flooding in texas and along the gulf coast. Rain has been soaking the region with up to a foot expected in areas through saturday. The flash Flooding Risk moderate to severe in some parts through early tomorrow. Also in texas, Governor Greg Abbott issued a pardon today to a former u. S. Army sergeant convicted of murder in the shooting of a black lives matter protester back in 2020. Steve patterson is following this. Steve, what more do we know . Reporter lester, Governor Abbott says this pardon is justified by texas Stand Your Ground Law and comes after the board of pardons and paroles reviewed the case unanimously in favor of the pardon. Last year, u. S. Army argent daniel perry was found guilty of murdering air force veteran Garrett Foster during a july 2020 black lives matter protest in austin. Police say foster was legally carrying a Semiautomatic Rifle when he approached an intersection where perry was parked. Perry then shot foster from the vehicle, later claiming selfdefense. Tonight, the District Attorney in the case is condemning the pardon, calling it a mockery of our legal system. Lester . Steve patterson, thank you. It was a terrifying night at a neighborhood in south florida. A barrage of gunfire lasting 15 seconds lighting up the street as a silver car sped past in miami gardens. Police say several gunmen targeted the car with highpowered weapons. The chaos caught on home surveillance cameras. Some of the bullets hit houses in the neighborhood. The car crashed into a fence, and those inside got out. Remarkably, police say, there were no injuries. Well turn now to the growing controversy over a Graduation Speech at a Catholic College given by a kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs. Some critics saying it was sexist and homophobic, and calling on the team to cut him loose. Heres liz kreutz. Reporter tonight, the nfl on defense after growing backlash over that controversial Graduation Speech given by one of their star players, Kansas City Chiefs kicker harrison butker. I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you. Reporter in this speech at benedictine college, the 28yearold super bowl champ criticizing lgbtq rights, abortion, ivf and surrogacy, while encouraging the young women graduates to focus on being a homemaker. 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. Reporter despite a Standing Ovation from the crowd, many slamming the speech as homophobic and sexist. Getting married and having kids is not my ideal situation right now. It definitely made graduation feel a little less special, knowing i had to sit through that and get told im nothing but a homemaker. Reporter the nfl, which is coming off a year of record Female Viewership Amid Hype Over taylor swifts relationship with butkers teammate, chiefs tight end travis kelce, now distancing themselves from butker. The league saying in a statement, butker gave a speech in his personal capacity. His views are not those of the nfl. And more than 140,000 people have now signed a petition calling on the nfl to remove butker from the chiefs. So far, neither benedictine college, the chiefs or butker himself have commented. Lester . Liz kreutz, thank you. In the middle east, a potential humanitarian lifeline in gaza, as the u. S. Military finished setting up a Pier The Pentagon has said could put u. S. Troops in harms way. Richard engel reports. Reporter the u. S. Military has tonight anchored its pier off the gaza strip and will in the coming days begin to use Landing Craft to shuttle humanitarian aid to the coast. Defense secretary troops at. Its also slow, but lloyd austin warning this could put u. S. Troops at risk. Its also slow, but needed, because trucks are increasingly blocked and attacked by Israeli Settlers and rightwing extremists. In several incidents this week, israeli hardliners have stopped supplies and aid they suspected were heading to gaza. And theyre proud of what theyre doing. The activists say as long as hamas holds hostages in gaza and keeps them in deprivation, gazans should be deprived as well. Several of the trucks were sent by jordan, and senior jordanian officials tell news that israel failed to address the problem. We traveled to the west bank through areas where palestinians say Hundreds Of Armed Settlers carried out Arson Attacks. In one case, cctv footage showed Settlers Setting Fire to a garage. While in the distance, Israeli Soldiers appear to not intervene. This Palestinian American is a Community Leader here. Is that common where the settlers do things like this, attack people, set things on fire, and the soldiers just sit back . Sit back and watch. They dont do anything. Theyre supposed to be protecting people. Reporter the Israeli Military says it does not impede the flow of aid into gaza, and the alleged Arson Attacks by settlers in the west bank are under investigation. Lester . Richard engel, thank you. In 60 seconds, a promising new drug to treat menopause, but will insurance cover it . When dry eye symptoms keep. Coming. Back. Inflammation might be to blame. Overthecounter eye drops can provide temporary relief. Xiidra can provide lasting relief. It targets inflammation that can cause dry eye disease. Xiidra . Nooo xiidra treats the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease. Dont use if allergic to xiidra. Common side effects include eye irritation, discomfort or blurred vision when applied, and unusual taste sensation. Why wait . Ask your doctor about a 90day prescription and pay as little as 0. Xiidra. grunt [ Cellphone Ringing ] phone call from the boss . Sorry. Outdoor time is me time. Sticking it to the boss, that sounds fun. We have sort of a flat hierarchy, so wait, flo isnt the boss . Well, you could say im a boss at helping people save when they bundle. Nope, thanks. Were not gonna say that. Id rather not. Very cringey. Ugh, when is my Allergy Spray going to kick in . You need astepro. Astepro . Its faster, bro. 8x faster than flonase. Its faster, bro its faster, bro its faster, bro its mom to you. Astepro starts working in 30 minutes. Astepro d go a new drug is showing promising results and relief for millions of women going through menopause. Anne thompson has more. Reporter once whispered, now shouted. Im in menopause reporter by high profile women. I think im having my first hot flash. Reporter and millions of others who want better medicine for this phase of life. I started having hot flashes. Reporter Cindy Lauthrie is a once active wife, mother, and nurse, slowed down by the effects of menopause. How bad does it get . I would turn really red and perspire really bad, and im bad enough that i could be in a social situation and people would stop me and ask if i was okay. Reporter oh, my gosh. Yeah. So definitely noticeable to other people. Reporter until she joined a phase 3 Clinical Trial of a potential new drug called elinzanetant, targeting two receptors in the brain. Dr. Joanne pinkerton led the trial. It did work very well to reduce frequency and severity of hot flashes, and it improved sleep and overall quality of life. So it worked on all three. Reporter cindy says her hot flashes, as many as 15 a day, disappeared. And i can sleep and fall asleep and stay asleep. Reporter wow. And i felt really rested when i woke up. Reporter made by bayer, this drug could one day join veozah asth. A nonhormonal option, with the same high price tag, well over 500 a month. A cost most insurance plans dont automatically cover, and some plans make women fail two other treatments before paying for veozah. What would you say to Insurance Companies about the need to cover these drugs . Women and providers need to be able to pick the best and safest medication for women that theyll take. Reporter Women Demanding Access and choice to deal with the process of aging. Anne thompson, nbc news. We have more to tell you about. 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