he Supreme Court hears Donald Trump‘s presidential immunity case. Students are arrested at protests against the Gaza war in Texas and California. And what to watch for in tonight’s NFL Draft.
Here’s what to know today.
SCOTUS takes on a novel legal question: Trump’s presidential immunity claim
Tackling an unprecedented and politically fraught issue, the Supreme Court will today consider former President Donald Trump’s assertion of total immunity from criminal charges over his attempt to overturn the 2020 election.
The case is being watched closely for a number of reasons. For one, justices are considering the novel legal question of whether a former president can be prosecuted for so-called “official acts” taken in office. There’s also the question of whether justices will rule quickly so a trial could take place before the November election.
The federal indictment against Trump focuses on his alleged involvement in a scheme to submit fake election certificates to Congress in the hope that they would nullify President Joe Biden’s victory. The chain of events culminated in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Federal prosecutors led by special counsel Jack Smith say Trump’s actions constituted a series of crimes. Trump has said he was merely expressing his concerns and has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges. After months of holds and appeals, whether a verdict in the case would come before Election Day is up in the air. Read more about the Supreme Court case here.
Eleven aides and allies of Trump, including Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, Boris Epshteyn and so-called “fake electors,” have been indicted in Arizona over their alleged efforts to submit those fake election certificates to Congress to overturn Biden’s win in the state. Arizona is one of the seven states where fake election certificates were signed.
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While the Supreme Court deliberates in Washington, Trump will be in New York, where his hush money trial resumes after a day off. David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, will take the witness stand again and is expected to outline his role in his agreement with adult film star Stormy Daniels, as well as another hush money deal with a former Playboy model. Trump has denied both women’s claims. Read more about the trial here.
Visit NBCNews.com for live updates both from the Supreme Court and Trump’s trial.
More Donald Trump news:
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It’s common for aides to refer to former presidents as “Mr. President” or “the president,” but Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche has the tough balancing act of strategizing how to represent Trump in the courtroom as both a common guy and someone who was once the most powerful man in America, writes NBC News’ Jonathan Allen. Read the analysis here.
Student protesters arrested in California and Texas as Netanyahu compares campus protests to Nazi Germany
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Jews and non-Jews to oppose pro-Palestinian protests, comparing them to the antisemitism seen in Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Netanyahu called the response of several university presidents “shameful,” without naming any. He praised the response of some local and federal officials, but said “more has to be done.”
As of last night, more than 30 people had been arrested at UT Austin. At the University of Southern California, 93 people were arrested as Los Angeles police clashed with protesters. And at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, people gathered to hear speeches and condemn the war in Gaza. Protesters vowed to stay until their demands to “divest” were met. And in Boston, a large police presence formed around protesters at Emerson College. Here’s what else happened on campuses across the country.
Since the arrest of 108 Columbia University demonstrators last week, protests over the war in Gaza have spread to other colleges. As Columbia students demand that the school cut financial ties with Israel and divest from Israeli companies, they’ve inspired students elsewhere to do the same.
Columbia’s protests have also put university President Minouche Shafik under scrutiny from politicians, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, who in a contentious visit to the university called on her to resign and threatened to withdraw federal funding for colleges that don’t create safe environments for their Jewish students.
More on the Israel-Hamas war:
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The parents of injured Israel-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin tell NBC News of their relief and distress after seeing their son Hersh in a new Hamas hostage video — proof of life they waited 201 days to see after a shaky video showing him in the back of a pick-up truck with part of his left arm blown off was the last glimpse they had of their son.
Venice launches world first tourist entrance fee in bid to fight overcrowding
Ancient and beautiful, this city is sometimes referred to as an open air museum — and now visitors to Venice will have to pay an entry fee after the tourist hub on Thursday became the first in the world to introduce a charging system for day-trippers.
In a bid to thin out the crowds that throng the canals, bridges and striking architecture during vacation season, day-trippers will have to pay $5.35 to enter the lagoon city on 29 peak days, mostly weekends, as part of a trial phase until July 14. While there will be no limits on the number of people who can register, officials are hoping the fee will put people off on days that it applies.
Ex-wife was ‘terrified’ of former cop before he allegedly killed her
More details have emerged following the death of a former Washington police officer who fatally shot himself at the end of a police chase in Oregon earlier this week. The former officer, identified as Elias Huizar, allegedly killed his ex-wife Amber Rodriguez on Monday outside their 9-year-old son’s elementary school, police said. The same day, police found the body of 17-year-old Angelica Santos, whom police described as Huizar’s “girlfriend.” Huizar was also accused of kidnapping Santos’ 1-year-old baby before leading police on a chase.
Police have not determined a motive in Rodriguez’s death but said there “were some domestic matters that were pending in court.” And according to Tara Symons, who was appointed as the guardian ad litem in the divorce proceedings, Rodriguez had safety concerns throughout the divorce process. Meanwhile, Santos’ family said they are heartbroken, telling NBC News that they tried to intervene in the teen’s relationship with Huizar, who was 39 — but he had “brainwashed” her.
What to watch for in the NFL Draft
The NFL Draft is tonight — and all signs point to USC quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams going to the Chicago Bears as the No. 1 pick. But the Bears aren’t the only team desperate for an offensive leader. The Washington Commanders also need a franchise quarterback and could use their No. 2 pick to select Louisiana State University’s Jayden Daniels or the University of North Carolina’s Drake Maye. And the New England Patriots are looking to fill the hole left by legendary quarterback Tom Brady, but they could be at the center of the night’s biggest drama as they may look to trade down. Sports editor Greg Rosenstein outlines other Draft night moves to keep an eye on.
Politics in Brief
Foreign aid: Biden signed a sprawling $95 billion foreign aid package that provides critical aid to Ukraine and included a provision that could lead to a nationwide ban on TikTok.
Abortion rights: Lawmakers in Arizona’s state House voted to repeal the 1864 near-total abortion ban that was upheld by the state Supreme Court earlier this month. The state Senate is likely to pass a repeal, too, and Gov. Katie Hobbs is certain to sign it quickly.
Ticket transparency: Over 250 popular musicians, including Billie Eilish, Green Day and Dave Matthews, signed a letter urging support for a bill that aims to reform the live-event ticketing system.
Congress: Democratic Rep. Donald Payne Jr. of North Carolina died at the age of 65 after several weeks in the hospital, his office said. Payne faced medical complications after a “physical accident at his home” earlier this month.
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Staff Pick: Orphaned by an airstrike, saved from her mother’s womb
Gaza is a place with an abundance of misery and a shortage of joy. What makes Sabreen Alrouh Jouda’s story so compelling is its heartrending mix of the two. When her parents were killed in an Israeli airstrike last weekend, Sabreen was born by emergency cesarean section, pulled from her 30-week pregnant mother’s lifeless body and somehow revived by the embattled and beleaguered Palestinian doctors.
An NBC News crew inside the city of Rafah saw the whole thing, revealing just one vignette of this humanitarian nightmare — one in which some 180 women are giving birth every day in what the United Nations describes as “inhumane, unimaginable conditions.” — Alexander Smith, senior reporter
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