Friday, September 6, 2024

Tonight, the major news for Donald Trump in his New York trials.

The judge delaying sentencing until after the election in his hush money convictions.

What it means for his case at the same time the former president appearing before a federal

appeals court as his lawyers fight to overturn the $5 million judgment won by writer E. Jean

Carroll.

Trump lashing out about the cases, women who accused him of assault and even his own legal

team.

Plus, the 14-year-old and his father charged in the deadly Georgia shooting at a school

appearing in court, the punishment they could face if convicted, and what the father told

authorities when he was interviewed last year.

All of it as the debate over guns heats up on the campaign trail.

Just breaking, federal officials charging a man with attempting to travel to New York

to carry out an ISIS attack against a Jewish center on October 7th.

What we've learned.

An American woman killed during the trial.

During a protest in the occupied West Bank, we speak with a witness who says Israeli soldiers

shot her.

The surprise announcement by former Vice President Dick Cheney now saying he'll vote for Kamala

Harris.

Boeing's troubled Starliner spacecraft finally heads home, but without the astronauts.

This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt.

Good evening and welcome, everyone.

Donald Trump will still face American voters in November.

Having been convicted of multiple crimes.

Multiple felonies.

But any punishment he faces will come after the election.

The judge in what became known as the hush money case, announcing he was postponing his

sentencing of the former president on criminal charges until close to Thanksgiving.

Judge one Mershon, in a sense, acknowledging the reality that this was not just any case.

Politically, it is a significant win for Mr. Trump and his team and their strategy of delay.

Hoping to keep voters focused on the campaign.

And that's why we're here.

And not the shadow of legal jeopardy over him.

Still Mr. Trump today publicly revisiting salacious accusations he has faced, taking

on prosecutors and accusers alike.

Senior legal correspondent Laura Jarrett has details.

Tonight, a seismic legal victory for former President Trump.

The gift of time.

The judge overseeing Mr. Trump's criminal hush money trial in Manhattan, calling off

his sentencing that had been scheduled for September 18th.

Saying the case is one that stands alone in a unique place in this nation's history.

Judge one Mershon, who Mr. Trump has repeatedly blasted as politically biased against him.

Now pushing that sentencing to November 26th, three weeks after Election Day.

Mershon saying today the public's confidence in the integrity of our judicial system demands

a sentencing hearing that is entirely focused on the verdict of the jury.

Adding it must be free from distraction or distortion.

A jury convicted Mr. Trump of falsifying his business records in May, but his defense

team has pushed to delay any sentencing, ensuring his felony convictions stay out of the headlines

as early voting begins.

That case is a disgrace, should have never been allowed, I did nothing wrong.

Earlier, the GOP nominee railing against his legal cases.

And my poll numbers I believe are higher now than they would have been without it, because

the public understands it's a hoax, it's a scam, it's a political witch hunt.

Even taking a swipe at his own defense team.

I have all this legal talent, but legal talent cannot overcome rigged judges, they can't

overcome a 4% Republican area, and I'm disappointed in my legal talent, I'll be honest with you.

They're good, they're good people.

But his primary target today?

The women.

They've made accusations against him in the past, including Jessica Leeds, who said Mr.

Trump groped her on an airplane in the 1970s.

I'm famous, I'm in a plane, people are coming into the plane, and I'm looking at a woman

and I grab her and I start kissing her and making out with her.

What are the chances of that happening?

I know you're going to say it's a terrible thing to say, but it couldn't have happened.

It didn't happen.

And she would not have been the chosen one.

She would not have been the chosen one.

Leeds' accusation resurfacing as a federal appeals court today examined whether a jury

improperly considered it in finding Mr. Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation of

another woman, writer E. Jean Carroll, awarding her $5 million.

It's an appeal of a ridiculous verdict of a woman.

And so, Laura, it's been a year full of court activity, and now it feels like everything

is on hold.

His attorneys have managed to get all four of those criminal cases basically tied up

on appeal or otherwise delayed.

Now, on the civil side, we will wait to see what the Second Circuit does with the Carroll

case and Jessica Leeds, that woman that he attacked by name today, saying she said in

response calling it terribly unfortunate, Lester.

All right, Laura Jarrett, thank you.

In Georgia, the first court appearance.

The first court appearance.

The first court appearance is today for the 14-year-old and his father charged in this

week's deadly high school shooting.

Priya Shrader is there.

Priya, what happened in court today?

That's right, Lester.

Neither father nor son entered a plea in court today, but the district attorney did say there

could be even more charges to come for the suspected shooter.

Tonight, the 14-year-old charged in the deadly shooting at Appalachee High School shackled

with hair covering his face.

Then he was charged with two counts of felony murder in his first court appearance.

You're charged with four counts of felony murder.

Family members of victims sitting in the first row.

Soon after, his father Colin Gray appeared in the same courtroom.

Are you Mr. Colin Gray?

He is facing involuntary manslaughter and second-degree murder charges in connection

with the shooting.

These charges stem from Mr. Gray knowingly allowing his son, Colt, to possess a weapon.

Two law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation tell NBC News that Colin Gray gave his son an AR-15-style rifle as a gift after they were interviewed by authorities last year, following several anonymous tips that Colt made threats online.

I don't know anything about him saying s*** like that, and I'm going to be mad as hell if he did, and then all the guns will go away, and they won't be accessible to him.

He said he was shocked by the suggestion his son was making threats.

Like, it's no joke.

Well, we wouldn't be here if it was.

No, I know. I know, and I'm telling you right now, we talk about it quite a bit.

All the school shootings, things that happened.

Yeah, it's scary.

Are you getting picked on at school? He is. He's getting picked on at school, and is everything okay? That's why I keep going up there.

Court records suggest the suspect had a turbulent home life.

Last year, his mother, Marcy, pleaded guilty to a family violence charge.

And according to an arrest warrant, fentanyl was found in her car.

But tonight, this community is focused on remembering the four lives lost.

Students Christian Angulo and Mason Shermerhorn, and math teachers Christina Irami and Richard Aspinwall, known to many as Coach A.

He saw something in me, and he just never let it go. Ever.

His former player, Quinton Hyde, says he became a coach because of him.

Just knowing that impact he had on me.

I want to have that impact on somebody.

Priya Sridhar, NBC News, Winder, Georgia.

And just breaking tonight, an alarming arrest as we near the anniversary of Hamas' October 7th terror attack.

A man now accused of plotting to target a Jewish center here in New York.

Tom Witter is following this. Tom, the Fed's taking this very seriously.

Well, that's right, Lester. Federal authorities say they've arrested 20-year-old Pakistani national Mohammed Shazib Khan.

He was plotting to carry out a mass shooting.

Targeting Jewish people in Brooklyn.

He was arrested two days ago in Canada.

According to court documents, he began posting support for ISIS on social media last year, including to two undercover officers.

Authorities say he posted photos of weapons, including AR-style rifles, and cash he allegedly acquired.

Saying he planned to carry out his attack just before October 7th, the anniversary of the Hamas terror attack.

Targeting New York because of its large Jewish population.

Authorities say they arrested him as he was approaching...

...the U.S.-Canada border. Lester.

All right, Tom. Thank you for that.

Another American has died in the turmoil of the Middle East, this time during a demonstration in the occupied West Bank.

Protesters say she was killed by Israeli troops.

Matt Bradley spoke with an eyewitness.

Tonight, an American among the latest casualties of the Middle East conflict.

The U.S. State Department confirming Aishunur Ezgi Egi, a 26-year-old Turkish-American activist, was killed in the West Bank.

Eyewitnesses say she was shot by the IDF.

While participating in a protest near Nablus against expanding Israeli settlements.

We came here and the peaceful demonstrations was violently oppressed by tear gas, by live ammunition.

Fellow activist Jonathan Pollack says Egi just arrived in the country on Tuesday and says he was there when she was shot.

I heard someone calling my name in English saying, we need help, help us.

I...

Put my hand under her head to try and stop the bleeding.

Egi was a recent graduate of the University of Washington.

Nablus' governor turning his anger directly on President Biden.

Biden, these American bullets that you sent to the Israeli occupation have killed your citizens.

This is the third American killed in the West Bank this year.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. is still gathering information on today's shooting.

I just want to extend my deepest condolences.

We...

Deplore this tragic loss.

Israel's military said in a statement that soldiers responded with fire after people hurled rocks at them,

saying the incident is under review.

And Lester, this latest death comes as the Israelis wrap up a major 10-day counterterrorism operation in the West Bank.

The Palestinians said has killed 39 people.

Lester.

All right, Matt Bradley, thank you.

The presidential candidates are preparing for their high-stakes showdown next week as the debate about gun violence

is now shaking up the campaign.

Here's Gabe Gutierrez.

Tonight, with just four days before that highly anticipated debate,

Vice President Harris is hunkered down in Pittsburgh,

where she's expected to hold mock debate sessions through the weekend

after getting new support from an unlikely source, a former Republican vice president.

Dick Cheney will be voting for Kamala Harris.

That announcement from former Republican congresswoman and frequent Trump critic Liz Cheney,

who says she's also voting for Harris.

One issue that's likely to come up in the debate,

crime.

Late today, former President Trump speaking to the world's largest organization of law enforcement,

the Fraternal Order of Police, after getting its endorsement.

Kamala Harris and the Radical Democrat Party have led a war on law enforcement in America.

They're against you so strongly.

While the Harris campaign today, releasing this letter,

signed by dozens of law enforcement officials endorsing her.

That comes as the issue of gun violence has once again rocked the country and the campaign.

Following this week's mass shooting,

a Georgia high school, Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance, calling for increased school security.

The Kamala Harris answer to this is to take law-abiding American citizens' guns away from them.

I don't like to admit this.

I don't like that this is a fact of life.

But if you're, if you are a psycho and you want to make headlines,

you realize that our schools are soft targets and we have got to bolster security at our schools.

The Harris campaign writing on social media, school shootings are not just a fact of life.

It doesn't have to be this way.

Vance then responding, instead of addressing her own failures, she lies about what I said.

And late today in a written statement, Dick Cheney explained he was voting for Vice President Harris

because, quote, in our nation's 248-year history,

there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump.

Lester.

All right.

Gabe Gutierrez at the White House.

Thank you.

We'll take a break.

And then up next, Boeing Starliner undocking from the space station and heading home.

The latest on its troubled odyssey right after this.

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Tonight, Boeing's troubled Starliner spaceship is on its way back to Earth without its crew.

NASA is not convinced it's safe, so the two astronauts who rode up in Starliner will stay on the space station until February.

With more, here's Tom Costello.

Separation confirmed.

Starliner is now backing away from station and starting its return to Earth.

After three months of high stress and tense debate over whether Boeing Starliner could,

safely return astronauts to Earth.

Late today, Starliner left the space station without its crew.

Starliner is on a perfect trajectory backing away from the International Space Station.

Staying behind on the station, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams, who this week prepped their spaceship to return home empty.

Of course, it's bittersweet to be packing up Starliner.

You know, we want to do the best we can to make sure she's in good shape, so we want her to have a nice soft landing in the desert.

Starliner launched.

June 5th on a 10 day test flight.

But helium leaks and engine thruster problems have kept Williams and Wilmore on the space station for 93 days.

Haunted by the Columbia disaster that killed seven astronauts, NASA decided not to risk putting the crew back on Starliner.

NASA has decided that Butch and Sonny will return with Crew-9 next February.

That SpaceX Crew-9 mission will launch later this month with two astronauts.

Williams and Wilmore will take the empty seats on return.

Until then, running science experiments and doing cardio and strength exercises during their extended stay on station.

Their 10 day mission now extended to eight months.

Starliner is expected to touch down after midnight eastern time in the New Mexico desert.

NASA is hoping to make the necessary fixes and then fly the ship again sometime next year.

Lester?

Okay, Tom, thank you.

Still ahead, the man responsible for making sure the ship is in good shape.

We'll be right back after this.

To ensure Swing State Georgia's elections go smoothly.

While he is under new pressure in facing new challenges.

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With the presidential election two months away, Georgia is under the microscope once again with

controversial new rules passed just weeks ahead of early voting. Julia Ainsley now with the story

of the man in charge who is trying to make sure it all works. Brad Raffensperger knows he is a man

being watched. The Georgia Secretary of State travels with security, having faced threats on

his life and against his family. He is a frequent subject of former President Donald Trump, who has

called him out and cast doubt on Georgia's election integrity. And Raffensperger ought to make sure

that the vote is honest. And they don't want the vote to be honest. In my opinion, they want us to

lose. Their tensions date back to the now infamous phone call from then-President Trump after the

2020 election.

I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more that we have.

Trump telling the Secretary of State to find the votes needed for him to claim victory in Georgia.

Raffensperger refused to do so and is now focused on 2024.

We understand that half the people are going to be disappointed,

but 100% of the people need to know we got it right.

But out on the trail.

If we lose Georgia, we lose Georgia.

If we lose the whole thing and our country goes to hell.

Trump has been spreading new doubt, much of it unfounded,

about the security of the vote in Georgia, a talking point repeated through conservative

media for years.

The voting system that they used in Georgia is illegal.

Our rules are not impacting any deadlines.

This is Janelle King, a Republican state election board official.

She and her colleagues praised by Donald Trump.

Well, pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency and victory.

But for Raffensperger,

a new headache and the run up to this year's vote.

The election board in Georgia passed rules seen as controversial because they could give each of the state's 159 counties

the ability to delay certification of their votes until they have done a reasonable inquiry into the results accuracy.

We created a uniform process.

All of our rules operate within the law.

Raffensperger worries what the board has done could delay Georgia's results overall and raise questions about election integrity.

What do you make of it?

The new rules?

Well, I think I've been very clear on the state election board.

They're a mess.

What is the risk of giving counties their own discretion to certify election results?

Actually, counties do not have the discretion to certify that in the law.

Black letter law.

It says on the Monday following election, they shall certify their elections.

And if you don't follow the law, you'll be coming before a superior court judge.

Think that might happen this go round?

I don't make predictions.

I just say we are going to follow the law.

Raffensperger is now on trial.

He's on a mission, working to make sure people trust Georgia's results.

This is one of nearly 30 offices getting a surprise visit from Raffensperger this election season,

where he'll be testing ballot marking devices and ballot scanners like these.

As you've traveled around, have you found any issues?

No.

Everything's been secure?

Yes.

The man responsible for the election in Georgia, confident in the system.

Julia Aimsley, NBC News, Griffin, Georgia.

That's Nightly News.

As a reminder, you can catch a new episode of Nightly News.

Kids edition tomorrow on NBC.

Check your local listings.

I'll see you there.

Thanks for watching, everyone.

I'm Lester Holt.

Please take care of yourself and each other.

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