tonight, the fireworks inside the courtroom at donald trump's criminal trial. also breaking tonight, president biden exerting executive privilege, the controversy there. and tonight, the deadly house explosion. a father and daughter killed. a mother and son pulled from the wreckage. first tonight, donald trump's defense team taking aim at michael cohen. the brutal cross examination.

donald trump in that courtroom, watching it all very closely. tonight, we're tracking severe storms right now. the highest level of alert for life-threatening flooding in several states. ginger zee standing by with the forecast. tonight, the controversial graduation speech. the super bowl champ under fire now for a speech about women and their roles, and the lgbtq community. what he suggested to women graduates. president biden exerting executive privilege to block the release of audio recordings of his interview with special counsel robert hur, concerning the president's handling of classified documents. tonight, the white house saying the transcripts are already out. the recordings are not necessary. the abc news exclusive. tonight, our james longman with ukraine's president zelenskyy, just as we learn ukraine's second-largest city is coming under attack tonight by the russians. what president zelenskyy told james about this moment in the war, and his message tonight for americans. in gaza, meanwhile, the u.s. military building that floating

pier. it is now ready to get in 500 tons of desperately needed food and humanitarian supplies. matt gutman with late reporting from israel. back in the u.s., the breaking headline from texas at this hour. the governor there pardoning a former u.s. army sergeant convicted of murdering a black lives matter protesters. that deadly house explosion in ohio. a father and daughter killed. good samaritans pulling the mother and son out. we do have news on their conditions tonight. this evening, the team moving their games against caitlin clark to a new arena, a much bigger one. because of the crowds turning out to see any game involved clark. and america strong tonight. a victory lap unlike anything we've seen before. the high school coach and generations of students returning for one last run around that track.

good evening and it's great to have you with us here on a very busy thursday night. we'll get to those severe storms, possible tornadoes, and the highest level of alert for flash flooding, life-threatening flooding, several states in the path of these ginger is standing by. we do begin tonight with the fireworks at donald trump's criminal trial today. the defense taking aim at trump's former lawyer and fixer, michael cohen. cohen facing a brutal cross examination and watching it all very closely in that courtroom, the jurors and donald trump. abc's senior investigative correspondent aaron that sker can i leading us off at the courthouse again tonight. >> reporter: donald trump has often seemed tuned out during his criminal trial -- head back, eyes closed. but today, the former president alert and riveted, watching his lawyer grill his long-time fixer michael cohen, painting cohen as a vengeful lair, whose testimony is not to bl belie be. cohen is the only witness to

testify he spoke directly with trump about the hush money payment to porn star stormy daniels. and today, trump's lawyers trying to pick his story apart and create reasonable doubt in the minds of the jury. defense attorney todd blanche zeroed in on a phone call in october 2016, just days before the election. cohen previously testified he'd called trump's bodyguard keith schiller to get trump on the line, and then he and trump finalized the plan for cohen to pay off daniels. but blanche said that wasn't the real reason for the call, producing text messages suggesting cohen was actually calling trump's bodyguard to complain he was getting prank calls from a 14-year-old. blanche insisted cohen misled the jury when he testified the call was about the hush money. "that was a lie," the defense lawyer thundered. "you were actually talking to mr. schiller that you were getting harassing phone calls?" "part of it was the 14-year-old," cohen conceded. "but i knew that keith was with trump at the time." "that was a lie," blanche fired back. "you did not talk to president trump that night. you can admit it." cohen kept his cool. "no, sir, i can't," he responded, "because i'm not sure that's accurate." trump's defense pointed out the

call in question was 96 seconds, but cohen sticking to his story, insisting it covered both the prank phone calls he received and the hush money scheme. the defense did not get into the plan to pay off the porn star instead, the defense tried to chip away at cohen's credibility, painting him as a serial liar, angry, who turned on trump when he didn't get a white house job. cohen acknowledged he was "disappointed" he was never even considered for white house chief of staff, saying, "i would have liked to be considered, for ego purposes." but he repeatedly claimed he never actually wanted the job, preferring what he called a "hybrid" role outside government, telling the jury, "there was no shame in being personal attorney to the president of the united states." throughout his testimony, cohen has been calm and measured. today, trump's lawyers wanted the jury to get a sense of the bombastic figure we've seen before, playing this excerpt of cohen on his podcast railing against trump. >> you better believe i want this man to go down and rot inside for what he did to me and my family.

>> reporter: this trial's almost over, david. michael coe on should be off the witness stand by monday. and prosecutors have no additional witnesses. the defense is still deciding whether to call any witnesses, including trump himself, but the judge today told both sides, be ready for closing arguments on tuesday. david? >> david: so, this all could be done in just days. aaron, thank you. we're also following severe storms at this hour. a tornado watch and the highest level of alert for life threatening flooding in several states. the trinity river tonight near houston already swollen. some areas getting 600% of their normal rainfall in just the last two weeks. tonight, heavy rain from texas to mississippi, up to 12 inches of rain in some areas. these storms also bringing damaging winds and large hail. baseball-sized hails shattering windshields in oklahoma. this threat well into tomorrow. let's get right to ginger zee, timing it out for us tonight. hi, ginger. >> hi, david. it is quite rare to see a high risk, a level four out of four for this life-threatening flash flooding, but when you're

anticipating 6 to 12 inches of rain locally, there in texas and western louisiana, that's why we've got that risk out. and it all happens tonight. these areas have had, you said it, 400% to 600% of norm am. on top of the risk tonight, they've got a tornado watch. there's severe thunderstorms just marching toward houston at this hour. they'll go towards lake charles and lafayette overnight. and there are more severe thunderstorms back in west texas. a flood watch that extends all the way through the florida panhandle, including destin and mobile. let's talk about the timing, though. from jackson, back to lake charles, that's 10:00 p.m. if you are traveling i-10 tonight, please be ware, especially south of new orleans. as that keeps tracking east, you have the morning thunderstorms for alabama and florida. we get a whole other line of those tomorrow night, david. >> david: ginger zee with us again tonight. ginger, we'll see you first thing in the morning. we turn to the controversial graduation speech. chiefs kicker harrison butker under fire after what he said about women and their roles, and what he said about the lgbtq community. and what he suggested to women

graduates about their roams moving forward. here's stephanie ramos. >> reporter: tonight, the nfl responding to that commencement speech from kansas city chiefs kicker harrison butker and his controversial comments about women, abortion, and the lgbtq community. >> i have gained quite the reputation for speaking my mind. >> reporter: the super bowl winner delivering the commencement address saturday at benedictine college, a conservative catholic liberal arts school in kansas. butker addressing the female graduates, saying that while they may go on to have successful careers -- >> i think it is you, the women, who have the most diabolical lies told you to. how many of you are sitting here now, about to cross this stage, and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career? some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but i would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.

>> reporter: conservative sports commentator clay travis coming to his defense. >> i saw people saying, "you got to cut him, how dare he say --" i didn't even see him say anything remotely controversial. >> reporter: butker then referring to pride month as a deadly sin. >> not the deadly sins sort of pride that has an entire month dedicated to it, but the true, god-centered pride that is cooperating with the holy ghost to glorify him. >> reporter: the advocacy group gladd outraged. >> i couldn't believe it was such an outdated, antiquated view on lgbtq people and women and using religion, in a way. >> reporter: the nfl stating, "harrison butker gave a speech in his personal capacity. his views are not those of the nfl as an organization. the nfl is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger." there is a change.org petition demands the chiefs release butker. so far, no comment from the team. and despite the headlines surrounding this speech, butker did receive a standing ovation,

david. >> david: stephanie, thank you. to the breaking news involving president biden tonight, exerting executive privilege to block the release of audio recordings of his in interview with special counsel robert hur. tonight, the white house says the transcripts are already out, the audio is not necessary. and tonight, attorney general merrick garland under fire from republicans on this. so, let's get right to mary bruce. mary, the white house insisting this is all politics, suggesting they know what republicans would do with these recordings. >> reporter: david that is the crux of their argument here, as the president is now using his executive privilege to block house republicans from getting access to the audio of his interviews with the special counsel related to his handling of classified documents. the white house is accusing republicans of seeking to manipulate the tapes for political gain, after the special counsel described the president as a, quote, elderly man with a poor memory. david, as you know, the full interview transcripts are already out there. and the special counsel declined to bring charges against the president. but biden is now using this

privilege, something donald trump did, as well, at the request of his attorney general merrick garland, who is also warning that politics is at play here, and cautions that releasing the audio could have lasting impacts on future investigations. but david, republicans are not dropping this, they are now trying to hold the attorney general in contempt for refusing to turn over these tapes. david?mary, thank you. also, the developing headline from texas at this hour, where governor greg abbott has pardoned an exarmy sergeant convicted of a murder of a protester at a black lives matter protest. perry claimed he was acting in self-defense. the pardons board recommending his release. the d.a. calling the pardon a, quote, mockery of justice. we turn tonight to the abc news exclusive. this evening oushgs j, our jamen with ewe krukraine's president

zelenskyy. what he told james about this moment in the war, and his message for americans watching. abc's james longman reporting in from kharkiv. james? >> reporter: david, kharkiv has come under sustained aerial sou assault here. this is almost a nightly occurrence for this city. and that is why, today, in an exclusive interview for abc news, president zelenskyy told me now is a critical moment. tonight, the fight to secure kharkiv threatens ukraine's entire war effort, and so despite near daily missile attacks, president zelensky rushed here to boost moral and sound the alarm. it's an indication of just how serious a situation is that president zelensky has had to cancel his foreign trips to come here to kharkiv and meet the men who are fighting to defend this city. zelenskyy handing out medals to some of the 500 soldiers injured in just the past week. >> a lot of guys gave their lives. >> reporter: in an exclusive interview with abc news, the

ukrainian leader was clearly frustrated by weapon and ammunition delays, and the u.s. aid package that had been stalled in congress. how serious is the situation right now? >> it's difficult. it's serious. some brigades are not totally equipped, because of the package which we waited through eight months. >> reporter: is what's happening in kharkiv, is this america's fault? >> it's the fault of the world. but now, the world can help. >> reporter: the president grateful for american support, but says a priority must be a pair of u.s. patriot missile defense systems to keep the russians out of kharkiv. >> if we are speaking about this region, russia can't occupy this if, for example, two patriot will stay in this region. just two systems. >> reporter: americans are worried how much money is being spent in ukraine. what's your message to them? >> all this money, we don't get any money. all this money, it goes to the factories in the united states,

and then these factories gives jobs to americans and then weapon goes to us. >> reporter: but today's visit was for the wounded. vasyl is honored by his medal. he was injured by russian artillery fire. "we couldn't even see the enemy," he says. but he doesn't want the credit. he's clearly proud that this war is a lot more than about any one man. he's thinking about his comrades, many of them have died. and zelenskyy told me he knows ukraine will be a salient issue in november's election. he is grateful to the american people for the aid that's been received so far, but he's very specific about what's needed to keep kharkiv safe, and that is those two patriot missile systems. david? >> david: james longman with the interview with president soouz, thank you. overseas there's news on that attempted assassination in slovakia. well, tonight, authorities now say the man accused of shooting prime minister robert fico was a lone wolf, and recently radicalized. the prime minister greefting supporters, you'll remember this, shot multiple times.

the unnamed gunman now charged with attempted premeditated murder. the prime minister tonight in serious condition. the shooting sending shockwaves across europe and nato, where divisions are growing, fueled in part by the war in ukraine. the prime minister had recently run on a platform of no longer providing military aid to ukraine. meantime, the major development tonight from gaza. the u.s. military building that floating pier. it is now ready to get in 500 tons of desperately needed food and humanitarian supplies to the people of gaza. abc's matt gutman with late reporting from israel now. >> reporter: new images tonight of that u.s.-built floating pier, now anchored to the beach in gaza just south of some of the heaviest fighting. about twice as long as an aircraft carrier, the pier will allow desperately needed aid to be brought by ship directly into gaza. about 1,000 u.s. military personnel involved, but it will be up to the u.n. to coordinate distribution, and u.s. officials stress there will be no boots on the ground.

the first delivery of 500 tons of aid expected within days. >> you should really think of this as a crawl, walk, run. it's going to start off small and scale up. >> reporter: it comes at a critical moment with fighting in rafah choking off aid by land and daily blockades from small groups of israelis. today, we witnessed these men stopping truck. so, what they're trying to do is block trucks like this -- you can see this kid running, and demand the i.d. of the drivers. that's how they know whether they're delivering aid or not. easy, easy! this soldier offering the agitators information about the convoys, then coming out and threatening us not to film him. it comes as israel increasingly seems bogged down in gaza. five killed in a friendly fire incident in northern gaza, where the idf says hamas has regrouped. david, back to that pier. israel has guaranteed security onshore, but u.s. officials tell us there will be american troops at the far end of the pier in order to receive that aid, but that's the closest they'll get to land.

and those officials say they're not aware of any direct threat to those troops, but they do acknowledge this is not without risk. >> david: matt, thank you. meantime, back here in the u.s., and to the supreme court tonight. the justices rejecting a challenge to the consumer financial protection bureau in a win for the biden administration. bankers had argued the agency's funding is unconstitutional, coming directly from the federal reserve, rather than through congress. the court rejected that claim in a 7-2 decision. the consumer protection bureau was set up after the 2008 financial crisis. it protects consumers' fbss, including credit cards, personal loans, and mortgages, as well. when we come back on a thursday night. a deadly home explosion. a father and daughter both killed. good samaritans pulling the mother and her son from the debris. the images here in just a moment. and later tonight, the wnba, the team now moving their games against caitlin clark to a much bigger arena because of the crowds showing up for any game with caitlin. y of the things you love.ght

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the risk of kidney failure with farxiga. because there are places you'd like to be. farxiga can cause serious side effects, including ketoacidosis that may be fatal, dehydration, urinary tract, 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 ♪ tonight, authorities are investigating the cause of a deadly house explosion in fulton county, ohio, outside toledo. a father and daughter were killed in the blast. a mother and son injured. good samaritans, people driving by, helping to pull the mother and son from the debris. they do remain in the hospital tonight. authorities have not yet said what caused the blast. when we come back here tonight, the big change for some key games coming up involving caitlin clark. we'll tell you what's happened. and then, the msremarkable

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to the index. so many fans want to see caitlin clark play, even opposing teams are now moving games to larger arenas. the atlanta dream relocating two games against clark and the indiana fever from their arena to the 17,000-seat arena at the staid farm arena in atlanta. the caitlin clark effect. when we come back here tonight, the beloved coach, and the final lap. he has no idea this was coming. and shoulders, right? only when i see flakes. then i switch back to my regular shampoo. you should use it every wash, otherwise the flakes will come back. tiny troy: he's right, you know. is that tiny troy? the ingredients in head and shoulders keep the microbes that cause flakes at bay. microbes, really? they're always on your scalp... little rascals... but good news, there's no itchiness, dryness or flakes down here! i love tiny troy. and his tiny gorgeous hair. he's the best. - make every wash count! - little help please. if you have heart disease and struggle with ldl-c... even with statins and a healthy diet...t. listen to your heart. talk to your doctor about repatha.

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impacting so many young lives. and tonight here, before he officially retires, watch what happened. right after coach joe's very last home track meet, the surprise. 75 students, past and present, taking to the track. one final victory lap with their coach. their shirts with the message "we'll miss you." rounding the bend. joined by his wife, becky. and after they crossed the finish line, coach joe must have known the gatorade cooler was coming. right here tonight -- >> hi, david. welcome to poth, texas. >> david: coach joe. >> to see people come back that i haven't seen in years, and say that i have a little bit of impact on their life has been very touching. >> david: his daughter, kira. >> i love how he treats everyone. and i love how close he is to the community. >> david: seen nior cayden.

>> he supports me in everything i do. >> david: junior aiden. >> with his great coaching and teaching, i'm the state runner up in shot put. i want to show coach the support he showed me. >> david: tonight, the students past and present showing up for their coach. to thank him for changing their lives. we salute you, coach joe. and we love that everyone showed up. i'll see you t right now. being a homeowner is so expensive, expensive and elusive for so many. >> but one bay area city has a solution. it all starts in the backyard. >> portability is getting less reachable and this is a great option. i think what berkeley is doing to help first time home buyers and in the south bay, skyrocketing home prices, the up and down housing market going up

and up and up in one county. >> good afternoon. thanks for joining us. i'm larry biel and i'm kristen sze in california. >> the median or midpoint between the highest and lowest sale price was $854,000 in march in san francisco, the median was just over 1.7 million for a single family home. >> san mateo county is actually the highest median there, nearly 2.2 million, but santa clara county is also right there, now, topping $2 million. >> abc7 news south bay reporter dustin dorsey looks into what's driving up the cost of living in silicon valley. >> santa clara county, the home of innovation, technology and nearly 2 million people. and it's also the home of some of the most expensive real estate in the country. what do you think the median home price is in santa clara county? wow. >> was taken in the last time there was, over $1 million. >> i'm gonna guess, 1.5 million, i would say about