getting crossed over the cross examination. donald trump's deefense team spars with stormy daniels over her credibility, while the

former president pushes for another mistrial. we're live with the fireworks from another dramatic day in court. israel responds in the rift over rafah. the explosive reaction to president biden's red line over a potential invasion into the city in southern gaza. another round of dangerous weather crashing into the gulf coast overnight, packing powerful winds and hail. meteorologist angie lassman is looking at whether the system could affect your mother's day plans. why federal regulators are looking into credit card points. and justin bieber is singing "baby" for a whole new reason. the pop star and his wife announcing a new ba-lieber is on the way. "early today" starts right now. good morning to you. i'm frances rivera. we begin with that courtroom

drama playing out in new york. testimony will continue in just a few hours in donald trump's hush money trial. sparks were flying as stormy daniels detailed an alleged sexual encounter with trump in 2006. brie jackson joins us now. things were tense in court, as the deechfense got a chance to question daniels about her story. >> reporter: that's right. there were a lot of heated exchanges thursday. mr. trump's attorney bringing up stormy daniels' experience in the adult film industry, saying daniels has experienced making up phony stories about sex. the defense also arguing that daniels had a financial stake in trying to take down trump. daniels said she was trying to sell her story, to get the truth out. but that she chose to take the non-disclosure agreement for her safety. now she told the jury the money was not her motivation, saying, we're all happy to take money. it was just a bonus. mr. trump wants to respond publicly to daniels' testimony, but the judge rejected a request

to change the gag order. the former president did speak to reporters outside the court. >> everybody saw what happened today. i don't think we have to do any explaining. i'm not allowed to anyway. i got to get back on the campaign trail. i'm not supposed to be here. we are so innocent. there's never been anything like this. >> reporter: now trump's attorneys told reporters thursday that they learned former playboy model karen mcdougal will not testify in this case. mcdougal allegedly had a story about trump that was bought by the national inquirer. overnight, mr. cohen, mr. trump's former lawyer and key witness in this case said on a podcast that he expects to testify next week. frances? >> brie jackson for us, thank you. turning now to tensions in the middle east. president biden announcing that he will not be supplying israel with offensive weapons for an invasion of rafah.

benjamin netanyahu put out a defiant statement saying israel will defeat hamas militarily with or without the u.s. and national security minister tweeted, quote, hamas hearts biden. he later deleted it after an outcry. let's go live to clapman bell. what more are the israelis saying? >> reporter: good morning, frances. as you say, that fallout does continue, following president biden's interview, and the decision to pause a shipment of bombs to israel. israel's ambassador to the united nations calling the pause a very disappointing decision, even frustrating. others in israel echoing prime minister netanyahu, saying israel will continue to fight hamas until its destruction. that said by the foreign affairs minister. but president biden also catching backlash back at home. republican senators accusing the president of favoring a hamas victory over israel.

arkansas senator tom cotton having this to say, take a listen. >> hamas' leaders and its last four battalions are holed up in rafah. so israel has to defeat hamas in rafah to win. hamas wins if it survives in rafah. and joe biden has threatened to withhold weapons from israel for fighting in rafah. therefore, joe biden objectively favors a hamas victory over israel. >> reporter: war of words continues. others are appearing to try to tone down the language. israel's president thanking president biden for being a great friend to the state of israel and saying disputes can be clarified when there are disagreements between friends and allies. meanwhile, the biden administration has paused these arms shipments because they've long called the full military assault on rafah a red line, worried about civilian casualties, instead, focussing

on that cease-fire, even a temporary cease-fire and participating with regional partners to try to bring home those hostages still held by hamas. new this morning, a virginia school board approved a proposal to restore the names of ke confederate leaders to schools. many spoke out about againsti going back to the old school flames. the na names. the schools will once again bear the flames of confederates. police just released the body cam footage of the fatal shooting of rogerfortson. it shows the deputy knocking at fortson's door and the moment shots were fired.

we play a portion of it, and a warning that some may find the video disturbing. >> slf's heriff's office, open door. >> step back. >> drop the gun, drop the gun! drop the gun! >> i don't have it. >> 312. shots fired. suspect down. >> fortson's attorney, benjamin crump reacted saying there were no calls to drop the weapon before shots were fired. the family says police entered the wrong apartment. and the sheriff's office saying that's inaccurate, that they entered the apartment because of report of a disturbance and the deputy acted in self-defense. a man accused of a machete attack in 2022 has been sentenced to 27 years in prison. he pleaded guilty to several

terror-related charges, including attempted murder and aggravated assault on a police officer. he admitted to scouting times square and choosing groups of officers to target. he also said he was sorry for what he had done. three officers were hurt in the attack, one of whom was forced to retire because of his injuries. recovery efforts will pick back up this morning after a massive avalanche killed two skiers in use out. utah. the lone survivor says they were hiking when the avalanche occurred. recovery efforts had to be called off yesterday because of bad weather. and now to the south where an onslaught of deadly storms tormented the region. more than 360 storms were reported. it was also the fifth day their yeathis year to have more than 100 reports of tornados. pr pr priya sridhar reports.

>> violent tornado! >> reporter: the twisters ripping trees from the ground and reducing homes to rubble in tennessee. here, one hour south of nashville, six buildings on this one property completely destroyed. one of those buildings strewn 30 yards from the foundation before the tornado ripped through the house. power crews are working round the clock to restore power to the tens of omousands of people here who lost it. people here are now confronting the storm's heartbreaking aftermath. >> my bedroom's in that area. >> reporter: tammy johnson still lives in the same house she grew up in. she was in bed with letther dogn the tornado tore through. what was going through your mind? >> that i was going to die. >> reporter: nearby, 10-year-old asher is fighting for his life after getting swept into a storm drain. the community is praying. >> we pray and lift up asher. >> there it is. >> reporter: from oklahoma to alabama and michigan. almost 80 tornados have been reported across 17 states in the

last three days. causing widespread damage. >> large tornado. >> reporter: back in tennessee, breann lovett took cover at home. >> the next thing we knew we heard, and my house is gone. it's gone. >> reporter: rescuers had to use chainsaws to remove them from what's left of their house. she still hasn't found her mother. >> i just want my mom to be okay. because i didn't see her house. her house is gone. >> our thanks to priya for that report. for the latest on those storms, let's turn to nbc meteorologist angie lassman. what a way to end the week with non-stop storms it seems like. >> yeah, it has been quite the start to our spring. we know that is our chance where we often will see some of these stronger storms and the severe weather outbreaks. that's exactly what we've been dealing with. today we have severe thunderstorm watches and warnings. you see the big batch of thunderstorms moving to the east

and through the day today. now the good news is, our tornado risk is low. but we still likely will see some really strong winds as well as hail across this region. parts of the s southeast trechi isoutheast stretching into the carolinas. we have a quick-moving system that will move across the great lakes as we get through the day tomorrow. but notice by the time sunday rolls around, we've got more of that heavy rain on tap, specifically for parts of texas, where we're concerned that we could see some flooding over the next couple days. this is going to be sunday into monday, mainly for the repeated rounds of heavy rain. but notice the rain totals, upwards of three montgomery and.

dallas heads to the low 80s with mostly sunny skies. and that's a look at your forecast, frances. back to you. terrifying moments in senegal where a jet skidded off the runway during takeoff. images show the nearly 30-year-old 737 plane on fire as people evacuate down the emergency slide. at least ten people were injured, including a pilot. the air senegal flight was operated by trans air. the airline has not commented on the incident. "early today" is back in a minute with a miss america bombshell and a swipe at credit card perks. d a swipe at credit card perks. 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 as well as the leading luxury brand without the $60 price tag.

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the green achfter the fed indicated that any rate hikes are off the table for now. lawmakers are paving the way f . way. >> officials are looking at whether new regulations are needed for certain credit cards because there are concerns that some customers are paying more when it comes to credit card fees and interest rather than what they're actually getting when it comes to travel perks and others. now staying with the travel theme, i have another one for you. the senate is actually approved new legislation aimed at bea boosting aviation safety. the bill includes further funding, potentially, for hiring and training of air traffic controllers among other measures. however, though, this bill has

yet to be approved by the house before it becomes law. but let's see whether that will actually take place. >> sylvia, thank sylvia, thank . fans were shocked when ms. teen usa gave up her crown days after ms. usa announced she was stepping down for her mental health. she accuses the organization of failing to take a report of sexual harassment seriously. she also accused the pageant ceo, leyla rose, of constantly threatening her with disciplinary action. she was experiencing heart palpitations, full body shakes, loss of appetite and more. the ms. usa organization did not respond to request for comment about the letter. in a statement wednesday, the ceo said the well-being of all individuals associated with the pageant is her top priority. still to come, there's going to be one less lonely set of

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he posted that cryptic, he was crying, everybody's like, what's going on. her parents, remember, they're like pray for her, pray for them. makes sense. >> it's so great. a lot of times you hear the tabloids talking about negative things when it comes to their relationship. so it's great to see it was a positive thing. >> when they're grooit, it's not always bad. >> congratulations to them. let karmi cook. the first teaser for season three of the "the bear." the short dialog-free clip shows the tortured chef arriving in the kitchen ready to do what he does best. fellow award darlings are also set to return, all episodes drop on hulu on june 27. and it's good news about season three isn't enough, they've renewed for season four. that's going to be shot back to back. we've got a whole lot coming, and it's consistent the bear delivers. >> we are totally in.

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tiktok will now label a.i.-generated content on its platform with a digital watermark in an effort to crack down on misinformation on the app. and less than two months after its release, beyonce's cowboy carter album has surpassed 1 billion streams on spotify. we'll be right back. we'll be ri. ♪♪ 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 as well as the leading luxury brand without the $60 price tag. for stronger, healthier hair. ♪♪ if you know, you know it's pantene. ♪♪ this charmin ultra soft smooth tear is soooo soft and soo smooth.

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>> after getting blown out on tuesday, the cavaliers beat the top-seeded celtics thursday. cleveland dominated the second half of game two to tie up their semi-final match up with boston. and the luka doncic ane luka do washington went tor 29 points. turning to playoff hockey where the rangers and hurricanes found themselves in an overtime duel. new york sealed the win. the rangers remain undefeated in the playoffs and are one game away from bouncing the canes. over in dallas, they made sure ot wouldn't be an issue. they tied up their series with the colorado avalanche. now to the perfect way to spruce-up a park. savannah sellers shows us a little piece of nature growing in the big city. >> reporter: in the shadow of the concrete jungle, soon to be

a tiny forest on roosevelt island. >> might look small, but ift is mighty. >> reporter: she has been helping plant pocket force forests. >> with the skyline behind us. forests. >> with the skyline behind us. forests. >> with the skyline behind us. . >> with the skyline behind us. . >> with the skyline behind us. . >> with the skyline behind us.f. >> with the skyline behind us. it's a dream come true. >> reporter: soil is meticulously prepared, and native trees and shrubs are planted closely together. ensuring rapid growth, achieving maturity in just a few decades. >> my big motivation is i want him to have connection to the city in 20 years. can he come back and say i participated in the planting. >> reporter: she brought the project to her own neighborhood. >> but the roots underneath are actually baby trees, and they fuse together and support each other and boost each other.

i think whatever's happening ground above ground, humans can do that >> when you come back, they transform the land, but they transform the communities with it. >> reporter: onenative plant at a time. savannah sellers, nbc news, new york. >> bringing a little bit of the jungle to the concrete jungle. thanks for starting your friday with "early today." i'm frances rivera. have a great weekend. we'll see you right back here early monday morning. rly monday. .

the cleanup begins after a week of relentless storms pummeled much of the country, bringing tornados, hail, and destruction. angie lassman ha