from imprinting on humans and showing it how to be an eagle. the goal is to eventually release the eaglet to the same location where it was found so it can hopefully reunite with its family. thanks so much for joining us! >> do you have any messages for donald trump? >> norah: the prosecution's key witness takes the stand and donald trump's hush money trial. >> is there anything he could say that could put you in jeopardy? >> michael cohen ties his old boss directly to hush money payments to stormy daniels. why he says the former president was afraid the adult film star's story would be a disaster for his 2016 campaign. >> you pay a lawyer or a legal expense.

it's mark down book. >> cbs evening news starts now. ♪ ♪ >> norah: good evening, i'm norah o'donnell, thank you for being with us after a pivotal day in the criminal trial of donald trump. the former president coming face-to-face with his onetime personal attorney michael cohen, who gave six hours of detailed testimony under oath, painting a behind the scenes picture of what was happening in the final weeks of the 2016 campaign. the former fixer and inside man detailed how trump personally approved the so-called hush money hush money payouts to hide his stories he believed would hurt him with female voters in his 2016 run for the white house. it was the stormy daniels payment and reimbursement disguised as legal expenses that is at the heart of this criminal case. trump is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal that information from voters.

reporters in the room say trump spent much of the day in court with his eyes closed. cbs's robert costa was there for today's riveting testimony and reports on a secret recording between cohen and trump of the jury just today. >> michael cohen left early this morning for what would be a blockbuster day in court where he testified when stormy daniels started shopping her story, donald trump told him "just take care of it." cohen set the scene, the 26 teen election was just weeks away and according to cohen's testimony, trump said it's a disaster, women are going to hate me. >> i have no idea what they are doing. >> as trump continued to deny all of the allegations, cohen detailed how he made the 130,000 payment to daniels to keep her quiet which he described in 2019. >> he asked me to pay off an adult film star with whom he had an affair and to lie about it to

his wife. which i did. >> before finalizing the $130,000 payments to daniels, cohen said he called a trump to tell him because everything required to mr. trump's signoff. on top of that i wanted the money back. >> cohen so far has been effective for the prosecution. he's the first witness was really place to donald trump directly in these discussions about the payoffs to stormy daniels. >> cohen pointed to a trump tower meeting where he and former chief financial officer ellen wessel berg showed cohen's name of the top end $130,000 scribbled at the bottom. it was there that trump approved the plan to pay him in monthly installments. jurors also heard them allegedly talking together in 2016 about a separate hush money payment made to former "playboy" playmate karen mcdougal. a recording cohen made without telling trump. >> i spoke to alan about it,

when it comes time for the financing. >> what financing? >> will not have to pay at. >> one major challenge for prosecutors is getting the jury to believe michael cohen. is a convicted felon who spent time in prison and admitted lying to congress. >> the only way they can do that is by allowing cohen to be himself on the stand and testify, he comes across as a person who is credible, who may have lied in the past but is telling the truth now. >> trump and cohen barely looked at each other all day but there was one moment where cohen was asked to single out the defendant and he did just that. cohen will be back in the courtroom tomorrow. >> norah: robert costa, thank you so much. breaking news from the scene at that deadly bridge collapse in baltimore. and a risky operation, engineers just hours ago set off controlled explosions in the wreckage of the francis scott key bridge to help try to free the massive cargo ship that crashed into it nearly seven weeks ago.

nicole sganga is there. >> explosive precision cuts at the sight of the key bridge collapse. workers demolishing steel beams to remove a colossal steel truss atop the container ship dali where 21 crew members remain below deck during this operation. >> it is going to allow for the pressure from those cuts to literally separated the metal and cut through the steel. >> once clear, crews will work to reflowto the container ship dali in hopes of moving the ship out of the channel and just two days. the massive container ship expanding 985 feet and weighing 116,000 tons. moving it is one of the last remaining barriers to clearing the channel. >> the bridge is down. >> this is the moment the first police marine unit arrived on scene at the deadly bridge

collapse, seven weeks ago. >> several vehicles in the water. >> authorities have recovered all six bodies of the construction workers who died during the bridge collapse. maryland has now offered a $22 million in assistance to impacted small businesses, plus $2.8 million in cash to port workers. >> we are talking about a port that has economic output of $191 million daily. >> amid calls for accountability as investigators dive into the most expensive maritime tragedy in u.s. history. >> we know that those who need to be held responsible for this tragedy will be held respo responsible. >> findings from a preliminary investigation by the ntsb are expected to be released tomorrow. meanwhile, maryland transportation officials say the new bridge is expected to cost as much as $2 billion. >> norah: thank you so much.

tonight, the white house is urging israel to focus on a clear end game for its war with hamas with a political plan for the future of the palestinian people. this comes as israel finds itself fighting hamas in areas at once thought had been cleared of militants. cbs's r ramy inocencio reports e struggle for food and shelter in gaza is getting worse. >> is really strikes echo across northern gaza, like in the first weeks of this war. more wounded and more dead, with thousands of running out of refugee camps as israel's military rolled in to stop hamas from regrouping. "a tank is behind a school" yelled this mother. "we don't know where to go." on gaza's southern end them up parts of gaza city set shattered and abandoned as israel advances there. nearly 360,000 people have fled in the past week as israel ramped up its attacks. the already displaced, again displaced to the sands further

north. "i need to stay strong because of my daughter" said jamila abu jebara." she named her six other sons and daughters killed in an israeli strike seven months ago today. "i think i'm dreaming and i'll wake up and find my children% around me." deema now an only child said "i just want this war to end. >> hostility runs deep and wide. of the day is really settlers attacked and aid convoy headed to gaza, ransacking their trucks and throwing their contents on the street. as the country marked its first memorial day since october 7th for fallen soldiers and victims of terror, the u.s. warned israel it needs a plan to replace hamas as a governing body. >> you're likely to have a vacuum, a vacuum filled by chaos, anarchy and ultimately by hamas again. >> the health ministry is appealing for international pressure to let him desperately needed aid, medical supplies

come and if you will. crucial southern border crossing and raw file remains closed. >> norah: ramy inocencio, thank you for being there. to the intensifying war in ukraine, russian forces are carrying out a major assault in and around the second largest city kharkiv capturing more than a half-dozen towns and villages over the weekend. russia has been pounding ukraine's power grid while ukraine's desperately outgunned troops wait for more military aid to arrive from the u.s. and western allies. tonight in new york city is on edge following a string of random assaults including two high profile incidents in just the last week. a tourist in times square was stabbed over the weekend and a celebrity was punched in the face by a stranger, just a few days earlier. cbs's nikki battiste reports on what is behind this rise in frightening attacks. >> surveillance video shows this terrifying moment on saturday in

times square. a man jumping up from a walker, pulling out a knife and lunging at two women walking by, stabbing one of them in the chest. a few minutes later, police handcuffed the suspect. it's the latest in a series of random assaults across new york city. about a dozen people, mostly women and 19-year-old have reported incidents to police. some shared stories online, saying they were randomly punched in the face while walking down the street. >> it was like a zombie walked in and punched me and just kept walking out of nowhere. >> actor steve buscemi had a swollen, bloody i after he was allegedly hit by this man last week. his publicist said in a statement "the sopranos" and boardwalk empire star was another victim of a random act of violence in the city. >> it's a combination of factors and one of them is unaddressed mental illness. >> overall murders, burglaries, and shootings in new york city are down but there have been about 1,000 more misdemeanor

assaults like punching incidents this year compared to last, about a 7% jump. >> is at the randomness of these incidents that causes the alarm? >> i'm minding my business, not engaging with anybody, not making eye contact, not being hostile. and yet i can get assaulted and that's what makes people afraid to. >> the nypd believes there are multiple people behind these punching attacks and they don't appear to be connected to. so far there have been at least four arrests. we reached out to the nypd to ask if they are stepping up street patrols but we haven't heard back. >> norah: nikki battiste, thanks very much. more than 100 active wild fires are burning in canada sending thick smoke across the border south into the united states, minnesota officials issued the states first the air quality alert of the year. wisconsin and iowa also facing air quality issues. canada had its worst wildfire season on record last year, extreme drought conditions could make this year even worse. tonight, severe weather is once

again taking aim at parts of the country, this tornado striking a short time ago in southern missouri while heavy rains flooded roads across texas, dropping hail the size of golf balls. look at that on homes near austin. more than 10 million americans are under flood alerts from texas to florida with more rain in the forecast. some areas could receive up to a foot by the end of the week. tens of millions of americans are gearing up for the upcoming memorial day weekend. aaa says 43.8 million people are expected to travel 50 miles or more this year making it the busiest in nearly 20 years. here is cbs's kris van cleave. >> hoping to beat the potentially record-breaking summer travel rush, joy noelle balanag booked her vacation months ago. >> i'm definitely excited for this travel season, i do plan on traveling on airplanes, i do plan on taking my car, just seeing where the summer season takes me. >> she will not be alone.

aaa is expecting about a 5% bump in airline travel this memorial day weekend. united airlines is planning for its busiest ever, flying over half a million people per day. but most will drive. aaa predicting a record 38.4 million will hit the road up 4% from last year. >> it goes back to that bucket list, yolo, you only live once mentality. a lot of people are going with not take those trips we always take with our families let's get more adventurous. >> one of the fastest growing travel segments post-pandemic is cruising, the industry was done i can expect nearly 35,000 passengers this year, a new h high. vacation season started early. >> what do you like best about cruz and? >> that you get to go to multiple destinations, unpack your suitcase once. you've got food, entertainment, even a casino if you're into that. >> when it comes to holiday

traffic, aaa expects the road to be busiest and next thursday and friday between noon and a 7:00 p.m. united airlines thinks the air airports will be busiest on thursday. top travel destinations include orlando, florida beaches, los angele, las vegas and here in denver. >> norah: kris van cleave, good information, thank you so much. a church congregation pulls together to stop a gunman while dozens of kids away to their first holy communion. the heroic story next. await their first holy communion. the heroic story next. ract, or genital yeast infections, and low blood sugar. a rare, life-threatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. stop taking farxiga and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this infection, an allergic reaction, or ketoacidosis. ♪ far-xi-ga ♪ (♪♪)

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>> norah: quick >> norah: quick thinking churchgoers join forces to stop a gunman in louisiana this weekend. omar villafranca has the dramatic video. >> chaos during communion caught on a live stream. it happened saturday at saint mary magdalen church during a first communion ceremony for 60 children, all second graders in abbeville louisiana. police say a 16-year-old boy carrying a gun opened the back door of the packed church but was immediately confronted and escorted away from the church by parishioners. the priest tries to calm everyone by asking them to recite a prayer, while altar servers can be seen running for cover and clergy ducking behind the altar. no one was hurt. the 16-year-old was arrested and taken for a mental evaluation. saturday's incident comes a week after a man attempted to shoot a pennsylvania pastor mid service. video captures the moment his

gun jams and the deacon dives over the pew and tackles him. >> i tried to get out of the way of him shootig because he pointed at right at me. i'm looking right down the barrel of the gun. >> bernard polite said he heard voices. he is now under arrest charged with murdering his cousin earlier that day. omar villafranca, cbs news, dallas. >> norah: what is supposed to be a new simplified system for federal college loans is offended by glitches. what students and parents need to know, that's next. ♪ ♪ . over 97% of eliquis patients did not experience a stroke. don't stop taking eliquis without talking to your doctor as this may increase your risk of stroke. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding.

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>> norah: nearly two weeks after what is traditionally college decision day, many students are unable to commit to a school. that's because of computer glitches plaguing the education department's newly overhauled financial aid system. cbs's meg oliver has an important update. >> with high school graduation just weeks away, anxiety was mounting for senior jojo henderson.

the 18-year-old from pittsburgh to texas couldn't commit to college without knowing his financial aid to. >> i'm frustrated because you do everything you're supposed to do, then you have to wait on the government to catch up. >> henderson filled out the free application for federal student aid known as fafsa almost five months ago. he finally received his financial information last week, after some college decision deadlines. typically the department of education releases the forms on october 1st, then sends the students data to colleges within 12 max three days of submission to calculate aid to. this year, the application forms came out three months late. it's estimated more than a quarter of colleges have still not sent aid packages. >> that you ever think of giving up, maybe not going to college? >> yeah, many times actually. i was so tired of waiting. >> new jersey high school senior

jailen james finally received her aid package close to the decision deadline. >> my advice is to not give up. >> sara urquidez overseas college counseling for thousands of public school students in the dallas area. >> ask for extensions, ask if deposits for housing are refundable, ask for anything you possibly can to help make a decision, but don't opt out at this point in the process. >> a fafsa fiasco that's still not finished. meg oliver, cbs news, wayne, new jersey. >> norah: heart of america is next with a symphony conductor who is changing the tempo for women everywhere. >> this portion of the cbs evening news is sponsored by verizon, the network you want for your phone and home. bundle on them! get sixy and it is all good.

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to shape its sound. the groundbreaking maestro, born in china, made her guess to debut earlier this year, one of the first asian american women to lead from its podium. >> do you hope to inspire other musicians? >> absolutely. >> in the u.s. only about one in four music directors are people of color and even fewer are women. >> do you think it was harder as a woman, as a person of color? speak of the double standard? absolutely. to be within this group, one also has to learn how to grow from it and give yourself the space to make mistakes, it's okay. >> experiences xian also passes on while leading the new jersey symphony in its eighth season as its first female music director as she places a new path, xian hopes the music itself serves the highest note of all. nancy chen, cbs news, new york.

>> norah: conductor xian zhang, tonight's heart of america. tonight we are going to have a rare and wide ranging interview with pope francis on this sunday's 60 minutes and then a prime time special next monday, may 20th here on cbs, . 7:00 now. remote work is still posing big challenges for san francisco as the city tries to build back its downtown. >> i think the town is quiet, sleepy now wednesday is the most crowded day to be in office. we took a close look at the numbers, the shifting trends as people start to return downtown. oakland's new police chief got to work today. he may have to do more with less but at least one business owner remains optimistic. >> i say one guy with a proper

attitude will always make a difference. that is what needs to change here. and a big scare for this 1-year-old husky and its owner. >> his face started puffing up, his neck area started puffing up. he fell to the ground. >> the warning for pet owners about hidden dangers as the weather heats up. this is cbs news bay area with juliette goodrich. >> good evening, thank you for joining us. >> if is where a lot of us work or play. it has been four years since the pandemic upended our downtown. it is considered the engineers of our community. >> during the worst of it, restaurants were boarded up, bustling areas looked like ghost towns, we have come a long way since then. and this week digging into you on the pay area's biggest city is bouncing back. >> a major che