tonight, the first group of jurors selected in donald trump's hush money trial as the judge scolds the former president. the first seven jurors now seated. what we know about them, including a teacher, a nurse, and a software engineer.

and the dramatic moment. what mr. trump did in the courtroom, and why it led the judge to warn him not to intimidate the potential jurors. our team at the courthouse. also tonight, the dangerous weather on the move. the tornado outbreak in several states across the central u.s. al roker is here. the articles of impeachment against dhs secretary alejandro mayorkas delivered. the stage now set for a trial in the senate. house speaker mike johnson under fire. his defiant message as the push from fellow republicans to oust him gains momentum. the middle east on edge. the missile used in iran's attack on israel, and our reporting on how and where israel would hit back. our nbc news exclusive. the boeing whistle-blower speaking out on the eve of his testimony before congress. >> i think it's as serious as i have ever seen. in my lifetime. >> the potentially

fatal flaw he says that could cause the 787 dreamliner to break apart in midair. boeing's reassurance it's safe to fly on. and heart and sole. the kind cobbler has become an unlikely tiktok sensation. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >> good evening and welcome. anyone who has ever served knows jury duty can be tedious, sometimes interesting or emotional, and often forgettable. but for seven people selected today to sit in judgment of the criminal trial of a former president of the united states, the experience will likely be hard to forget on so many levels. today in the second day of jury selection in donald trump's new york hush money trial, the seven anonymous individuals, the first of an eventual 18 jurors to be impanelled for the case have been sworn in. they are a salesman, an oncology nurse, two attorneys, an i.t. consultant, a teacher, and a software engineer, selected in a process that has confronted some

perspective jurors with their past actions and remarks over hints of potential partiality. laura jarrett is covering the trial for us. >> reporter: tonight, seven jurors have now been chosen to sit in judgment of former president trump, who left for the courthouse this morning, then closely watching what one juror who was dismissed described as a surreal selection process. >> but it's like oh, this is just another guy. and also, he sees me talking about him, which is bizarre. >> reporter: of those selected so far, a salesperson, an oncology nurse, two attorneys, an i.t. consultant, a teacher and a software engineer. the slow-moving vetting process springing into an animated focus group-like atmosphere. with today's pool of nearly two dozen manhattan residents offering their unvarnished views of the presumptive gop nominee to his face under questioning by the prosecution and defense. one man calling mr. trump, quote,

fascinating and mysterious. one revealing he was a big fan of "the apprentice" in middle school. a woman saying, quote, president trump speaks his mind. and i'd rather that than someone who is in office who you don't know what they're thinking. and a fourth perspective juror telling attorneys, "i'm a democrat so, there you go. but i walk in there, and he's a defendant, and that's all he is." the defense team raising successful objections to a handful by pointing out past social media posts, including one who said "lock him up." while the judge fumed at mr. trump for appearing to mutter something, warning, "i will not have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom." jury selection is ongoing until 12 people and 6 alternates are selected. the former president is accused of falsifying business records, a low level felony, by mischaracterizing a hush money payment he allegedly directed michael cohen make to stormy daniels as legal expenses on his company's books. mr. trump pleaded not good. guilty.

>> it's called legal expenses. that's what you're supposed to call it. nobody has ever seen anything like it. >> reporter: meanwhile in washington, the supreme court's conservative majority appearing skeptical of a federal obstruction law that could affect some charges mr. trump faces in a different criminal case. the case in front of the justices about a former police officer who wants charges stemming from his participation in january 6th dropped. the same law mr. trump has been charged with in his election interference case. but some of the justices today pressing the government to explain whether the law could unfairly sweep up those engaged in legitimate protests. >> what happened on january 6th was very, very serious. but we need to find out what are the outer reaches of this statute under your interpretation. >> and laura, if we could turn back at today's trial, the former president, a lot of focus today was on the perspective jurors' social media posts about mr. trump. >> yes, lester.

and clearly the defense team had done a deep dive on the perspective jurors. several were brought in, pressed on what they had said as long as six years ago. but most said today they can be fair, lester. and in many cases the judge agreed. the questioning will continue. on thursday. lester? >> laura jarrett, thanks. tonight, tens of millions are under threat of severe weather and it's hit parts of the midwest hard with more than 20 tornadoes reported. priya sridhar has late details. >> reporter: the severe storms ripped across the plains, with at least 22 reported tornadoes across four states -- kansas, iowa, nebraska, and missouri. residents capturing these terrifying images as menacing funnel clouds approached. the suspected tornadoes leaving a trail of damage in their wake. scary moments for drivers in iowa who filmed a moment a possible twister crossed a highway. >> that's a big old tornado. >> reporter: near smithville, missouri,

several roofs were torn off buildings and this camper flipped over. debris now scattered throughout the town. at least two people have been injured in the storm. the area was also hit by strong thunderstorms with golf ball-sized hail and wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour. tonight the region bracing for more severe weather with millions still under tornado watches. priya sridhar, nbc news. the severe weather threat continues right into tomorrow. al roker is track it all. al, what are you looking at? >> lester, right dow now we've got severe weather on, tornado watches and thunderstorm watches from illinois all the way into iowa. tonight we're looking at 22 million people at risk for damaging winds, hail, and the possibility the strong ef-2 or stronger tornadoes, des moines, davenport on into parts of missouri. tomorrow that moves farther to the east when we're looking to 17 million people. detroit, indianapolis, columbus and akron.

that moves further east on thursday. in the meantime, about 1 to 2 inches of rain, especially around the great lakes. lester? >> mr. roker, thank you. in washington, the senate now has those articles of impeachment against homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas over his handling of the border crisis as house speaker mike johnson faces a new threat to his job from fellow republicans. here is ryan nobles. >> reporter: tonight, a trial in the senate set to begin with house republicans formally sending over articles of impeachment against homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas. >> the senate has a clear obligation under the constitution and 200 years of precedent. we need to hold a trial. >> reporter: republicans accusing him of willfully refusing to comply with immigration law. with a record 9.3 million migrant crossings since biden took office. mayorkas and democrats call the charges

baseless. senate democrats poised to quickly dismiss them. all of it as drama also builds back in the house, with speaker mike johnson preparing to defy his most conservative house colleagues and call votes on a series of aid packages for ukraine, israel, and taiwan. this despite running the risk conservatives may attempt to boot him from the speakership through what's called a motion to vacate. johnson defiant. >> it is absurd notion someone would try to bring a vacate motion when we're simply here trying to do our jobs. >> it's the same threat that allowed a small number of republicans joining with all democrats to take out former speak kev kevin mccarthy last year. >> it's going to happen. >> reporter: though only a small group of republicans seemed open to another round of speaker drama. and some democrats suggested this time they are willing to help save a republican speaker. >> and i have the ability to table that, which would be to pour water, instead of gasoline. of course, that's what i'm going to do. >> reporter:

meanwhile, johnson's path is far from perfect. he wants to call separate votes. the bills would have to go back to the democratic senate, where there is no guarantee it would pass. national security leaders in the house are imploring their colleagues to pass ukraine aid this week. saying a classified briefing revealed today say the need there is critical. lester? >> ryan nobles, thank you. in the middle east today, israel's military saying iran will pay for its massive barrage against israel. and we have new reporting on what that response might be. >> reporter: israel's military tonight is vowing that iran will pay for its attack. >> iran will not get scot-free. >> reporter: 4 nba u.s. officials say they expect israel's response to be limited and likely involve strikes against the iranian military and iran on-backed proxies outside iran. but caution israel's plans may change. the unprecedented iranian attack included more than 100 ballistic missiles. today we visited a military base where weapons recently used against israel are

collected and analyzed. what iran fired was in a different league. this is the tail end of one of the ballistic missiles that iran fired. where the engine was, it broke off when this missile was intercepted. it's only when you are standing next to these do you understand how big they are. that's where the warhead was. it also broke off, carrying 800 pounds of explosives. had these gotten through, it would have been catastrophic. >> gazans are living in an ongoing catastrophe. today our camera crew filmed the casualties from an israeli air strike on a market. medical officials say at least 11 people were killed and more than 20 injured. israel accuses hamas of hiding among civilians. a senior arab diplomat with direct knowledge of the negotiations to free hamas' hostages and reach a cipher in gaza tells nbc tonight

the talks are almost frozen. lester? >> all right, richard engel, thanks. the tensions in the middle east creating ripples at home on america's college campuses. more on the firestorm at one major university over a now canceled graduation speech. >> reporter: tonight controversy on campus after usc canceled the valedictorian's commencement speech citing safety concerns. asna was chosen by the provost to be this year's valedictorian, selected from nearly 100 students who applied. but at least two pro israel groups and jewish groups complained, pointing to social media activity, specifically a free palestine slide show on her instagram, which calls for the complete abolishment of the state of israel. >> the university has to make the decision about whether this valedictorian and her propagation of antisemitic vitriol online is worthy of being the representative of the glass of 2024.

>> reporter: tabasan said she is shocked an profoundly disappointed that the university is succumbing to a campaign of hate meant to silence my voice. >> unfortunately, it is clear if you are a muslim student today, you don't the university, your administration to stand by you. >> reporter: the university's provost says the issue here is how best to maintain campus security and safety, period, and that the decision has nothing to do with freedom of speech. usc's commencement typically draws 65,000 people. university leadership has not shared details about potential threats. >> i'm uncomfortable that they're putting it under safety concerns. >> reporter: the commencement controversy at usc the latest example of heightened tensions related to violence overseas spilling over on campuses. liz kreutz, nbc news, los angeles. in 60 seconds, our exclusive nbc news interview with a

boeing whistle-blower who claims there could be a potentially fatal flaw in a popular model of the company's planes. what he and boeing are saying right after this. (♪♪) this is a hot flash. (♪♪) but this is a not flash. (♪♪) for moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms due to menopause... veozah is the first and only prescription treatment that directly blocks a source of hot flashes and night sweats. with 100% hormone—free veozah... you can have fewer hot flashes and more not flashes. veozah reduces the number and severity of hot flashes day and night. for some women, it can start working in as early as one week. don't use veozah if you have cirrhosis, severe kidney problems, kidney failure, or take cyp1a2 inhibitors. increased liver blood test values may occur. your doctor will check them before and during treatment. most common side effects include stomach pain, diarrhea, difficulty sleeping, and back pain. (♪♪) ask your doctor about hormone—free veozah...

and enjoy more not flashes. now to our nbc news exclusive. a boeing whistle-blower who claims a widely flown airplane could break apart because of a production flaw. boeing says the claims are without merit. the boeing engineer will testify in washington tomorrow. tonight he is only talking to senior correspondent tom costello. >> reporter: boeing 787 dreamliner has been flying since 2011, made of a lightweight composite material and stronger than a typical aluminum fuselage. but a current quality engineer has told the faa he believes the plane has a potentially fatal flaw. >> i think it's as serious as i have ever seen in my lifetime. >> reporter: 15-year boeing veteran sam salehpour will tell congress wednesday that the gaps between the big pieces of fuselage are too big. and even though they're fastened

together, the stress could create fatigue failure in the fuselage after thousands of flights. what would happen if you had a fatigue failure in a 787 at altitude? >> the plane will fall apart at the joints where we're talking about. once you fall apart, you're going to descend all the way to the ground. >> reporter: you think the plane could literally break apart in air? >> absolutely. >> reporter: but boeing tells nbc news we are fully confident in the 787 dreamliner because of the work done to insure the quality of the aircraft. the claims about the structural integrity of the 787 are inaccurate. these issues do not present any safety concerns. in 2020, boeing worked with the faa to tighten paper-thin gaps, pausing plane deliveries for two years, stress-testing the plane to 165,000 takeoffs and landlings, more than three times a typical 787's life span.

boeing says it found zero evidence of fatigue. >> even if these traps would form, which there is no evidence of, the airplane is so structurally robust according to boeing that they're not going to break apart. >> reporter: salehpour was moved from the project he claims in retaliation for raising these concerns internally. boeing insists he does not have access to all of the test data. still, with 1100 planes in service, he'll tell congress the 787 should not be flying. should boeing ground the 787 right now to check the gap sizes? >> i would say they need to. >> reporter: the entire fleet worldwide? >> the entire fleet worldwide right now as far as i'm concerned right now needs attention. >> reporter: on monday, boeing gave reporters a detailed briefing on its extensive express test. its reputation on the line after two fatal max 8 crashes overseas

and the max 9 door plug blowout in january, the subject of wednesday's congressional hearing. salehpour's attorney says she's heard from half a dozen other potential whistle-blowers with similar concerns. have any of those whistle-blowers agreed to come forward yet? >> not yet. i think some of them will come forward, but frankly, they're terrified. >> i'm at peace with myself because this is going to save a lot of people's lives. >> reporter: that's what's at stake? >> that's what's at stake. >> tom, these are really serious allegations. what is the faa saying about them? >> the faa says it investigates every whistle-blower complaint and it inspects every new 787 that comes off the assembly line to make sure it complies with an airworthiness directive. and boeing by the way says its employees speak up program, encouraging employees to come forward with concerns has led to a 500% increase in employee tips and feedback. lester? >> all right. tom, thank you. coming up, the high prices we pay for

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we're back now with the price you pay and a company that's already angered a lot of taylor swift fans out there. now it may face even bigger problems from the justice department. brian cheung is with us. brian, what do we know? >> we all remember the ticketmaster debacle during a presale for taylor swift's eras

tour. tonight the fallout continues as the department of justice is purportedly preparing to sue live nation 14 years after allowing it to merge with ticket master to control more than 80% of the market. "the wall street journal" reporting the antitrust lawsuit will allege live nation has undermined competition for ticketing for live events. doj and live nation declining to comment tonight, but a live nation post last month took up the issue saying promoters don't set prices. artists too. experts here say the hope is to make ticket morse accessible and cheaper for consumers. lester? >> all right, brian, thank you. up next, the unlikely tiktok star who puts his heart and sole into his work.

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♪ ♪ control is everything to me. ♪ ♪ learn how abbvie could help you save. finally tonight, the finally tonight, the unlikely tiktok star with a job that is good for the sole. here is sam brock. >> what we do is we take like a heel popper, and we pop that off. >> reporter: for anyone looking for a nice new sole, there may be no finer option than america's cobbler jim mcfarland. how would you describe your job to someone who doesn't know what is cobbler is? >> a shoe cobbler is someone that takes

your shoes and recrafts them back to the original factory conditions. >> reporter: the family business built on buffing, stitching and gluing beloved footwear goes back to 1900. >> we're in our 124th year. >> reporter: but jim initially resisted the craft. >> i didn't want to be in this business. i saw how hard my dad worked. >> reporter: still, he found himself back in the shop when his father got sick. now his videos are captivating people around the world. his social media secret weapon? his daughter tory. >> our first video that we posted got over two million views over the course of the week. but i think we were like mmm, 245 was a stroke of luck. >> reporter: millions and millions of views on future posts proved it wasn't. now he is making people smile. >> ooh, she's so pretty! >> reporter: and some -- >> a lot of people will send us letters. >> reporter: are making him cry, like this father, who recently lost his 16-year-old son.

>> he passed away four weeks ago, and they wear the same size boot. you take every ounce of love you have inside, and you put him into those boots, and you hope when he puts those on, it gives him some kind of band-aid on his heart. >> reporter: he is touching soles for sure, the ones on our feet and those in our hearts. sam brock, nbc news, lakeland, florida. and that is "nightly news." tomorrow, don't miss my report on nationwide police shortages. i interview the interim police chief here in los angeles about the problem. and join the "today" show tomorrow as they celebrate 100 days out from the paris olympics. thank you for watching, everyone, i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night.

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