. >>> and the legendary barry manilow. we're backstage at radio city for his record-breaking night. >> announcer: this is nbc "nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening and welcome. the prosecution in donald trump's hush money trial drew the sharp outlines of its case against the former president today, telling the manhattan jury mr. trump orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt. during a 40-minute opening statement a prosecutor told the panel hush money payments to porn star stormy daniels to assure her silence over an alleged affair and were illegally disguised as legal expenses were part of a planned long-running conspiracy to influence the 2016 election. in his opening statement a lawyer for mr. trump firing back saying there was nothing wrong with trying to influence an election. the prosecution putting on the stand as its first witness the former publisher of the "national enquirer," who the state says was central to an effort to quash negative stories about mr. trump during the 2016 presidential race. donal

behind the scenes of barry manilow's legendary run at radio music hall. it's april 23rd. "early today" starts right now. good morning, i'm frances rivera. testimony will continue in a few hours in the criminal trial of donald trump. the first witness took the stand in the former president's hush money case after both sides wrapped up their opening statements yesterday. nbc's brie jackson joins us now with the latest. brie, how canddid the prosecuto outline this case for the jury? >> reporter: the prosecutors told the jury this is about more than hush money payments to silence stormy daniels. they accuse mr. trump of lying about his business records over and over again and say this was all part of a long-running conspiracy to hide damaging information and influence the 2016 election. prosecutors say the allegations will be backed up by an extensive paper trail, including bank records and text messages. in their opening statements, the defense team works to humanize mr. trump, describing him as a husband and father. they dismissed the 34 charges as just 34 pieces of paper,

those are your trending headlines and your barry manilow news for the day.charlie: good stuff, carley. thank you. new york fan drilled from a home run slugger. >> we got to turn our attention to that fan out in left field who took a tommy white one to the noggin. that guy looks woozy out there. ...makeup smearing drops user. i want another option that's not another drop. tyrvaya. it's not another drop. it's the first and only nasal spray for dry eye. tyrvaya treats the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease fast by helping your body produce its own real tears. common side effects include sneezing, cough, and throat and nose irritation. relying only on drops? not me. my own real tears are my relief. ask your eye doctor about tyrvaya. ♪ innovation in health care means nothing if no one can afford it. ♪ at evernorth, we're helping to unlock barriers. ♪ using our 35 plus years of pharmacy benefits management experience to save businesses billions while boosting medication adherence. helping plan sponsors and their members be at their best. that's wonder made poss