guilty on all counts. the jury in the hush money trial of former president donald j. trump delivered a verdict of

guilty on falsifying business records. trump expected to hold a press conference just hours from now addressing the conviction. his sentencing slated for early july. our team breaks down the punishment he could be facing. and reaction is pouring in from capitol hill, from both donald trump supporters and detractors alike. what the historic verdict could mean for the november presidential election. and later, our nbc u academy storytellers take us inside one oklahoma boarding school striving to reclaim native-american history and culture. and the scripps national spe spelling bee has crowned a new champion after a lightning round tiebreaker. it's friday, may 31st. "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm frances rivera. we begin with that stunning verdict delivered in a manhattan courtroom. donald j. trump, the 45th president of the united states, found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying.

mr. trump is calling this a rigged, disgraceful trial, saying the real verdict will be delivered on election day. he remains the presumptive nominee in the close raise for the white house. sentencing is scheduled for july 11, four days before the convention to officially declare him the candidate. laura jarret has more on this historic verdict. >> reporter: former president donald trump found guilty. convicted by a manhattan jury of all charges. now the first american president ever convicted of a crime. jurors finding mr. trump guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying his business records to cover up a conspiracy no into influentia 2016 election by hiding how he reimbursed his former fixer by paying off a porn star before the election. the jury included seven men and

five women, including two lawyers and a foreman in sales. after hearing from more than 20 witnesses over six weeks. it largely came down to whether jurors would believe the word of michael cohen. cohen was the only witness who directly tied mr. trump to the alleged crime of falsifying business records. he testified mr. trump directed him to pay off stormy daniels so she couldn't derail his campaign. she'd alleged a sexual encounter years before. but mr. trump vehemently denied it. prosecutors argue at trial the president was desperate to keep her smiling, panicked after the release of the "access hollywood" tape, hiding the $130,000 payoff with a phony paper trail, invoices and

checks. trump's team declaring cohen the mvp of lying. while prosecutors argued that mr. trump chose mr. cohen for the same reasons they now want to you reject his testimony. mr. trump saying the case was politically motivated. >> this is a rigged trial. a disgrace. they wouldn't give us a venue change. we were, had 5% or 6% in this district, in this area. this was a rigged, disgraceful trial. the real verdict is going to be november 5th by the people. and they know what happened. >> reporter: outside of court, boos and cheers. district attorney alvin bragg reacting to the verdict. >> we arrived at this trial and ultimately today at this verdict in the same manner as every other case that comes through the courtroom doors. by following the facts and the

law. >> and our thanks to laura for that report. for more on donald trump's next steps, let's turn to nbc's vaughn hilliard. vaughn, good morning. >> reporter: hey, good morning, frances. in just a number of hours from now, donald trump, the former president, will address cameras about the 34 felony charges that he was convicted on, by a jury of 12 new yorkers yesterday. at trump tower, he will be holding a press conference at 11:00 a.m. eastern time to address the conviction. for him, this is significant. it only raises the stakes of the 2024 presidential election, just five months from now. his sentencing in this case is slated for july 11th, this summer, which is just four days before the republican national convention. now he could face multiple years in prison. but the prosecution could also just seek probation or a fine. it is up to, not only the prosecution what they seek, but also the defense to propose what they think the punishment should be.

it would ultimately come down to judge merchan to make that determination. if he were to be sentenced to any time incarcerated, that would likely be suspended till after, if he were to win, win the lixelection, and of course these were state charges that he was found guilty of. he would not be able to pardon himself. his own allies, his two sons, eric trump and don jr., as well as his campaign and social media posts and an e-mail have suggested that november 5th is the real verdict day, right? this is the day of the court of public opinion. these 12 jurors made their decision after hearing six weeks of testimony before them. and after deliberating for about nine hours, they ultimately made this determination. but for donald trump, he has every intention of going and litigating this case kwououtsid this courtroom as his legal team seeks the potential appeal of the verdict that came out from that lower manhattan courthouse, frances? >> okay, vaughn, thanks for the

breakdown. one way or another, this verdict is bound to have an impact on the election. for more on the reaction to the conviction, here's alice barr. >> reporter: from a manhattan courtroom to capitol hill and the campaign trail, reaction is pouring in to former president trump's criminal conviction. >> i mean, he had all the money in the world to defend himself, and he was still found guilty from his peers, and that's the way it should be. >> it's a bunch of hooey. i'm going to vote for trump either way. >> reporter: the former president putting the focus on the november election. >> the real verdict is going to be november 5th, by the people. >> reporter: the biden campaign making a similar point, noting that while the conviction shows no one is above the law, quote, there is still only one way to keep donald trump out of the oval office, at the ballot box. new polling out just before the verdict shows roughly two-thirds of americans surveyed said a

conviction would make no difference in their vote. >> i think it's going to boost his numbers. >> reporter: republican lawmakers rallying around their presidential candidate. house speaker mike johnson called the charges ridiculous and claimed mr. trump had been targeted politically. senator tim scott, a possible pick for vice president, called the trial a sham. >> we the people stand with donald trump. >> reporter: the trump campaign saying their fund raising site crashed in a flood of donations following the verdict. while the biden campaign hopes the conviction puts the spotlight on donald trump as a candidate, quote, breaking the law for his own personal gain. the 2024 election now moving to a new phase. in washington, alice barr, nbc news. breaking overnight in georgia. six people were shot in a residential neighborhood of decatur. the youngest victim is just 18 years old. police say what started as an argument between two groups of men quickly escalated into gief.

one resident telling our atlanta affiliate he heard 30 or 40 shots rattle off and later saw several plans lambulances leave scene. everyone who was shot was taken to the hospital. none of the injuries appear to be life-threatening. so far no one has been arrested. turning to texas where dangerous flooding hit the dallas ft. worth area wreaking havoc on roadways. a dallas city worker needed to be rescued after histruck became stranded in floodwaters. this comes as 200,000 remain in the dark after storms tore through the area earlier this week, toppling trees and power lines. meanwhile in west txexas, a tornado in midland. and the threat continues today. >> we are looking at the chance for more storms today. we're looking for storms early this morning across the southern plains into portions of the upper midwest. the central plains, lightning on radar. and we're going to see that as

we head throughout this friday. across the lower mississippi valley. you can see the lightning on radar, hearing the thunder as well. it's a cold front moving across the region, and we're going to see that bringing the chance for more flooding as we go throughout this friday. there is that cold front as it moves off to the east into the mississippi valley. best chance for storms into texas and louisiana. you can see that really heavy rain expected. and we're expecting the chance for flash flooding as well. the storm chances continue tomorrow from the great lakes to the gulf coast. and we could see super cells fire up across the plains especially tomorrow. 17 million people impacted today on this friday ar.

a little bit above average, and storm chances across the southern plains into arkansas and louisiana. all right, that's your friday forecast. >> okay, michelle, thank you. "early today" is back in a minute with a school helping native-americans reclaim their history, and, can you spell winner? a florida 12-year-old crowned king at scripps national spelling bee. olay visibly firms, lifts, and smooths wrinkles, by penetrating the skin, to boost regeneration at the surface cellular level. try olay. okay, so here's my most requested hack for stubborn odors. you'll need vinegar, a large salad bowl and... oh, hi! have you tried tide fabric rinse? it works after your detergent to fight deep odors 3 times better than detergent alone. i love that. try tide fabric rinse. this isn't charmin! no wonder i don't feel as clean. here's charmin ultra strong.

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>> reporter: step inside the school in oklahoma, one of four indian boarding schools left in the nation where they have children from 60 tribes. they celebrate culture through sewing and art. >> we bring in a lot of different cultures and languages. that's what's unique about riverside indian school. we're all native. >> reporter: it's also a place where alumni return to show their pride. riverside alumist ist alumist ie teaches art. >> if i were to come back and help our students try to get ahold of any type of talent that they had, especially when it comes to arts visually, that would be really fulfilling and satisfying for me. >> reporter: but riverside wasn't always this way. from 1819 to the 1970s, the u.s.

government funded over 400 schools like riverside. >> families felt they had no other choice but to send their babies, their precious children, away where they were being drilled that, to hate themselves. >> reporter: many taken from their families and forced to learn euro-american culture. speaking english and practicing christianity. many suffered abuse. according to a 2022 report from the department, at least 500 native children died while attending indian boarding schools in the u.s. >> and we don't even know what they have gone through. for us to be here today. >> reporter: 80-year-old cheryl was a student in the 1950s. today she is still coping with the loss of aspects of her identity. >> our language was never taught because it was forbidden. i wish i could speak it. but i can't. >> reporter: her hair, she says, is known as a crown in her culture. >> we don't cut our hair unless

there's death in the family. there was no one to braid our hair avevery day, keep our hair braided. so they cut it. >> reporter: it wasn't until the 1920s that the government slowly started shifting control of these boarding schools back to the tribe. as rivers >> it's a vital part for power stuur students to know their native language. >> able to create regalia from head to toe and take it home and use it tor ceremonial purposes or powwows. >> reporter: while they honor their culture, it doesn't mean they should forget the past. his students' connection to their history sewhows up in thi work. >> this looks like a child to me. so this is sort of facing toward

all of these things. they see, you know, the things that have happened in the past. and, you know, how some of these events, some of these people, these historic figures impact our world today. >> that was jay vaie reporting for nbc u academy. for more on this, go to nbcacademy.com. still to come. p-i-s. victors belong the al l that and more. right after this. there's a way to cut your dishwashing time by 50%? try dawn powerwash dish spray. it removes 99% of grease and grime in half the time. dawn powerwash has 3 cleaning boosters not found in traditional dish soaps that remove food and grease 5 times faster. and, because it cleans so well you can replace multiple cleaning products

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foundation takes off for france tomorrow. from our little rock affiliate, tyleesa hampton spoke to the vet about the historic trip and what it means to him. >> reporter: he might not look like it, but this arkansan world war ii veteran is 100 years old. grateful he is still able to tell his story. >> we flew our first bombing mission on d-day. we were to bomb that railroad yard that morning to cut off communications to keep the germans from letting anything to come in. but we couldn't see the target, so we didn't drop. >> reporter: this year on june 6 marks the 80th anniversary of d-day. >> that was the largest amphibious landing in the history of the world. >> reporter: tens of thousands of american and allied troops stormed normandy's shoreline of northern france to take back europe from nazi germany in 1934. >>you just never can imagine how many ships and airplanes

flew that day. >> reporter: it's memories he'll soon share with around 50 other world war ii veterans selected to attend the battlefield return to normandy. >> this only happens one time in a lifetime. >> reporter: taking them back to be honored in places they fought decades ago. >> it will be exciting just to meet them and talk about old times with them. >> reporter: when william was 18 he enlisted in 1942, leaving his then-job as a railroad apprentice. >> i wanted to be a mechanic. i didn't want to fly. i just evolved into a flying group. >> reporter: serving as a flight engineer gunner on both b-17s and b-24s with the eighth army air corps. >> i don't believe i could have picked a better crew. every man knew his job. >> reporter: serving in 28 missions until the war ended. >> when the war was over, i thought that was it. we never hear anything more about it.

>> reporter: to his pleasant surprise, he would be honored many times. thankful that on this trip he gets to join hands with others who served. >> i really appreciate that part. >> and we salute them all. our thanks to tyleesa hampton for that report. before we go, a stroll down pretty penny lane. a guitar owned by john lennon sold for $2.8 million at auction. it was found, guess where? stashed away in someone's attic. how did they not know it was up there? at least they did discover it, though. thanks for waking up with "early today" and ending your week with us. i'm frances riverahave a,

uc santa cruz will take you there. live with new