Damage near detroit on the heels of a dangerous tornado outbreak. Our team on the ground. Sources telling nbc news the Justice Department is negotiating a massive settlement with gymnasts who survived Larry Nassars abuse said to be near 100 million. The nba Issuing A Lifetime ban to Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter for gambling. Suspicious bets that tipped the league off. My report on the major shortage on the streets of Police Officers. I asked the lapd chief, is it keeping officers from responding to crime in time . And let the countdown begin. The 2024 Paris Olympics just 100 days away. Announcer this is Nbc Nightly News with lester holt. Good evening, and welcome. The house republicanled impeachment of Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his handling of the border crisis had barely left the station before being stopped in its tracks today by the senates democratic majority, who quickly dismissed the charges that mayorkas had willfully ignored Immigration Laws, a not unexpected outcome. A trial averted still left both sides expressing outrage. The Impeachment Showdown, however, nearly overshadowed by the Drama Building tonight in the house over speaker Mike Johnsons tenuous hold on power. Johnson tonight Risking Removal by fellow republicans as he advances a controversial plan to provide funding to ukraine, israel, and taiwan. Watching it all for us from the capitol tonight, correspondent ryan nobles. Reporter tonight, an Impeachment Showdown in the senate with democrats essentially dismissing charges against Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a matter of hours. Hear ye, hear ye. Reporter arguing arguing the impeachment by House Republicans was unconstitutional. Reporter arguing the impeachment by House Republicans was unconstitutional. To validate this gross abuse by the house would be a grave mistake and could set a dangerous precedent for the future. Reporter but republicans blasting the move to not hold a trial, arguing democrats are defying hundreds of years of senate precedent. This process must not be abused. It must not be shortcircuited. History will not judge this moment well. Reporter House Republicans accuse mayorkas of willfully ignoring Immigration Laws with a record 9. 3 million migrants crossing into the u. S. During the biden administration. Mayorkas calls the accusations, baseless. Democrats say, theres no impeachable offense. Meanwhile, House Speaker mike johnson facing off with his own Party Tonight releasing his plan for aid to ukraine, israel, and taiwan in three separate packages. Combined, the proposal would provide 95 billion in funding and is very similar to the already passed senate bill that bundled the plans together, though in johnsons proposal, 9. 5 billion of ukraine aid is through loans, not grants, a demand of former President Trump, but bringing ukraine aid to the Floor Means Johnson is putting his job in danger. House conservatives railed against the plan. I dont think we should be throwing 95 billion overseas when we have wideopen borders and American People are being endangered. Reporter Tonight Johnson arguing the stakes around the world are too high. Im doing here what i believe to be the right thing. I think providing aid to ukraine is critically important. So, ryan, when will the house vote on these aid bills . Reporter lester, Speaker Johnson has said that lawmakers will get 72 hours to read the legislation, meaning the earliest they could vote on it is saturday. It will likely require democratic votes in order to pass, and then the focus will shift to whether or not any republicans will move to boot johnson from his job. Lester. All right, ryan nobles, thank you. Tens of millions are under severe Storm Threats once again tonight, and there is late word of damage in michigan and ohio. Heres maggie vespa. Reporter yeah, lester, count ferndale, michigan, as one of the latest American Cities to be damaged by severe spring weather. This is a restaurant and then a tire shop behind me. You can see huge chunks of roofing were ripped off and tossed onto cars here in the parking lot. Wind speeds here topped an estimated 70 Miles Per Hour downing trees and power lines and we saw a similar story in bucyrus, ohio. A city about an hour north of columbus. There, entire chunks of Brick Building were ripped off, and windows were broken. This is the latest chapter in a violent week with more than two dozen tornadoes reported across five states. Thankfully at this point no reports of any major injuries. Lester. Maggie vespa, thanks. A huge settlement appears to be taking shape tonight involving the Justice Department and the victims of dr. Larry nassar over the fbis failure to act on reports of abuse of star athletes by nassar. Heres anne thompson. How much is a Little Girl Worth . Reporter a potential answer tonight to simone biles question at a Senate Hearing on the fbis failure to take seriously gymnasts complaints of sexual abuse by dr. Larry nassar. Two sources familiar with the negotiations tell nbc news, the Justice Department is far along in Settlement Talks with nassars victims. The final amount, the sources say, is likely to be close to 100 million, an amount first reported by the wall street journal. In 2021, biles and her fellow gymnasts described how the bureau ignored them. The agent diminished the significance of my abuse and made me feel my criminal case wasnt worth pursuing. Reporter Mckayla Maroney says she told the fbi of her abuse before she told her mom. They allowed a Child Molester to go free for more than a year, and this inaction directly allowed nassars abuse to continue. Reporter by one estimate, nassar abused at least 70 more gymnasts after the fbi was first told. The Justice DepartmentInspector General in a scathing report found multiple failures and Policy Violations by the indianapolis field office, which first handled the nassar allegations. Nassar is serving what amounts to a Life Sentence in prison while his victims now may be near some kind of justice. Anne thompson, nbc news. In congress today, top officials from Columbia University were questioned about their handling of recent incidents of antisemitism as demonstrations took place on campus. Heres garrett haake. [ Crowd Chanting ] reporter new yorks Columbia University tonight again a flash point in the rise in antisemitism on college campuses. [ Crowd Chanting ] as propalestinian protests continue across the country and jewish students report being targeted or feeling unsafe. I feel a tremendous amount of hostility towards me. Reporter columbias leadership testifying before a House Committee today investigating its response to recent incidents of antisemitism. President Minouche Shafik says, thats included curtailing access to campus and stiffening penalties for unapproved protests. Antisemitism has no place on our campus, and i am personally committed to doing everything i can to confront it directly. Reporter administrators pressed to respond to some of the most appalling examples of antisemitism. Does calling for the genocide of jews violate columbias code of conduct, mr. Greenwald . Yes, it does. Ms. Shipman . Yes, it does. Dr. Shafik . Yes, it does. Reporter columbias leaders clearly prepared after the University Of Pennsylvania and harvards president s stumbled over the same line of questioning last year, ultimately resigning their posts. That calling for the genocide of jews violat violates harvard code of conduct, correct . Again, it depends on the context. It does not depend on the context. The answer is, yes, and this is why you should resign. Reporter some questioning focused on work and commentary of certain faculty members. The support of terrorism is acceptable if youre a columbia professor . Not at all. Reporter some democrats criticize the republicanled committee noting they have now held three hearings on antisemitism and none on bills to combat the problem. Lester. All right, garrett haake, thank you. Also on capitol hill, the whistleblowers who claim boeings Safety Culture is broken. It comes after one of them spoke out on this broadcast last night. Heres tom costello with more. Reporter today, two hearings with boeing in the crosshairs. Boeing is at a moment of reckoning. Reporter as a former faa engineer, a former boeing engineer, and a current engineer all told senators, boeing is putting production and profits ahead of safety. Effectively they are putting out defective airplanes. Reporter engineer, sam salehpour, who told us boeings 787 dreamliner has a potentially fatal flaw. Would you put your family on a 787 right now . Right now i would not. Reporter today telling senators, he warned boeing the 787s fuselage could break apart. I raised concerns internally. I was sidelined. I was told to shut up. Reporter but boeing is pushing back hard insisting it does not tolerate retaliation, and after more than 4. 2 million flights, 13 years of service, and extensive stress testing, it has zero evidence of airframe fatigue. Today the ceo of United Airlines with 70 dreamliners said hes not concerned. I am totally confident the 787 is a safe airplane. Reporter in the hearing room, relatives of the 346 people who died in 2 max 8 crashes overseas demanding change at boeing. There was no accountability. Not a Single Person from boeing went to jail. Reporter also today, a panel of outside experts commissioned by the senate reporting back on boeings culture. They hear safety is our number one priority, but what they see is that thats only true as long as your Production Milestones are met. Boeings culture and Safety Management needs drastic improvement. Reporter boeing says it will act on the panels findings, but it insists safety already comes first. Lester. All right, tom costello tonight. Jury selection in former President Trumps Hush Money Trial resumes tomorrow after a break today. Meantime, President Biden has been in a key Swing State Calling for new restrictions on china. Gabe gutierrez is in pittsburgh with the latest. Reporter courting Union Members in battleground pennsylvania, tonight President Biden is calling for the Tripling Of Tariffs On Chinese Steel and aluminum. Im not looking for a fight with china. Im looking for competition, but fair competition. Reporter the administration accuses china of Overproducing Goods and flooding the u. S. Market hurting the american economy. China denies it. President biden has kept most of the tariffs on china that the Trump White House first imposed. Former President Trump has pledged even higher tariffs if he wins. My predecessor and the maga republicans want acrosstheboard tariffs on all imports from all countries that could badly hurt american consumers. Reporter the president is focusing on Economic Issues during a threeday trip through a crucial swing state while his opponent is tied up in court. A new poll shows 64 of americans approve of how mr. Trump handled the economy while 63 disapprove of President Biden on the issue. Joe patavan, a retired steelworker, blames corporate greed, not President Biden for inflation. I really do believe that the constitution is going to take a step backwards if mr. Trump gets in. Reporter he supports the president s push for more tariffs on china. What we need to do is be building in america. Why pay the tariff if you can build it here. Reporter but in scranton, trump supporter john is building a new restaurant, and hes slamming President Biden for rising costs. He says his policies are better for Middle America or anybody. Just walk around, and ask the real people, and theyll tell you the exact opposite. Reporter with Jury Selection in former President Trumps trial set to resume tomorrow, the Biden Campaign is heading to philadelphia trying to create a splitscreen moment. Lester. All right, gabe, thank you. In 60 seconds, the betting scandal rocking the sports world. An nba player just banned for allegedly betting on games and claiming illness to influence a bet. La s lu in p t dl stn sllms oqff hre y pasts, elin ev pasts, elin an f joma pn ealm owr yigec pn in Ealm Seinns D fa ncnc nd in ealm 5olth Heseskr Seicio cu ouyo aye nt dotl heog 5olth heseskr k y abelsa were back now with a scandal rocking the nba. The league issuing a rare lifetime ban for the Toronto RaptorsJontay Porter accusing him of gambling violations. With more on that, heres sam brock. Reporter tonight, the nbas doling out a lifetime ban to raptors forward Jontay Porter jr. After a League Investigation uncovered blatant violations of our gaming rules. Porter is accused of manipulating his own performance and tipping off bettors, which commissioner adam silver commented on days ago. Its a cardinal sin, you know, that what hes accused of in the nba. Reporter porter is the first active player or coach expelled from the league for gambling in 70 years. And silver had no choice but to drop the hammer today. Reporter according to a League Investigation, porter placed at least 13 bets on nba Games Netting about 22,000, shared Confidential Information about his own Health Status to a known nba bettor, and limited his own game participation to influence the outcome of bets tied to his performance. He then gets into a game against the sacramento kings, and within three minutes takes himself out saying that hes sick. He only played three minutes. He didnt take shots. He didnt get rebounds, so he underperforms. They win the bet. Reporter nbc news was unable to reach porter for comment. The rush of attention around professional Sports Leagues and gambling all the stars with all your friends. Reporter have coincided with those same leagues going into business with the gambling companies. How are we going to integrate gambleing into professional sports while simultaneously making sure that the players arent gambling . Its the most important thing, but what he did speaks to the heart of why this is such a bad idea to have leagues partner with gambling companies. Reporter a new terrain that leagues like the nba must now navigate. Sam brock, nbc news. Up next as we continue here tonight, the growing nationwide shortage of Police Officers. My interview with the lapds top cop on the crisis and what can be done. Habe habe the oy habe k ttireavrkts s atyo an an o llteec p cot ate c eepr ep f b sr, nodili at tve liwiteinnu o omu. F b sr, o stndch o thro nudtpf here in los angeles, police and residents are feeling the strain from a chronic shortage of Police Officers. I spoke with the lapds interim chief about how hes addressing the crisis. The lapd has long been considered one of the most understaffed Major City Police departments in america making the current staffing crisis all the more troubling for the top brass. Chief, is it fair to say you are severely understaffed . Absolutely. Reporter recruitment now a critical issue for interim police chief dominic choi. Among the three largest cities, chicago and new york have about twice as many cops per capita while los angeles is far more vast. I think if we had about 12,000, we would be well staffed, and as of last monday, we are at 8,832. Reporter thats the lowest Staffing Level of the lapd in more than two decades, and its having a direct impact on the departments ability to police. Has the shortage of Police Officers simply made it harder to respond to certain types of calls . I think its made it more difficult to respond to all types of calls. Where were seeing some slippage is our nonemergency calls. Weve seen that number go from an average Response Time of about 20 minutes upwards to 40 minutes up to an hour. Reporter calls like this one where a group of masked suspects used power tools to cut through the Security Door and safe at the siete mares restaurant in Boyle Heights with the suspects taking off. Everybody was on edge. Reporter with no arrests made, tonya diaz and her family, who have owned this restaurant for decades, say the neighborhood feels less safe. Theres not as many cops out in the streets anymore, so we got hit, and then a couple weeks later, another restaurant got hit. Reporter while Violent Crime trended down in 2023, Property Crimes were up. A revolving door of Repeat Offenders taking a toll on morale. I understand the frustration that an officer works so hard to put somebody in jail because of criminal behavior, and then that person is walking out the door before they can finish their reports. That is frustrating. Its demoralizing. Reporter Law Enforcement agencies nationwide are feeling the crunch with unprecedented declines in Police Staffing since 2019. In a recent report, of, department of ca onesng , justice calling it a historic crisis, saying departments are losing officers faster than they can hire new ones, citing labor market competition, officer safety, and wellbeing, and increased tensions between police and the communities they serve. It affects the ability of the agency to even respond to relatively lowlevel concerns but that are high quality of life concerns for the community. Reporter to entice new recruits, the lapd recently negotiated pay increases. New fulltime officers can now make nearly six figures, about the same starting salary for a Computer Engineer Graduating from the university of california system. Not everybody thinks a lot of Police Officers are a good thing. There are those voices out there that say this money could be used in a more efficient way. Whats your response to that . Im an absolute supporter of alternative response, so there are certain calls that i believe that police dont need to respond to. To the people that think less cops are okay, i have to disagree. At the end of the day, you have to have a safe community. Part of my conversation with the interim police chief here in l. A. Up next, Beach Volleyball at the eiffel tower. We go to paris for the olympics, just 100 days away. We , 00 ys ca d a usse siec rete fer. Hyn,ry oral ynf a usse s t neld occ siec fe h a usse gitit neld occ etsisiear risung fe h ik cere. A t Sngmsai Evugh skse hmist th vghofotar okeoeno k s l erlg e en ele yothgehe hoet les ik cere. A t Sngmsai Evugh nk lu l d d m nc i ri nk lu l w e on fne ji. Y. [c ncy y,an bti s wa a 4 pr ffls. Y ovti ely se telmonb usum ososfls. Y ovti caor seea Esh Gu Pr Ung Ng Oc T Er as d onlyalant. Fu finally, its 100 days until the 2024 Paris Olympics. Our keir simmons now with a glimpse at the amazing venues at the citys most famous sights. Reporter theres an air of anxious excitement in paris tonight, 100 days before its first olympics in 100 years. Venues now visible from the eiffel tower. The seine still set to host the Opening Ceremony and triathlon as officials allay fears over security and pollution. Will the river be ready . Theres a little bit of concern. For every big event, you have to think about contingency plans. I think thats part of our work. Reporter construction is under way at the stunning Beach Volleyball venue. Just a month ago this wasnt even here. By late june there will be seating for 13,000 people underneath the eiffel tower. While in the Historic Place de la concorde, theyre now building the venue for modern sports like breakdancing and skateboarding. Team usas Skateboarder Jagger Eaton hopes to be there. Im just ready to be there in the jersey competing. Thats what im most excited about. Reporter equestrian athletes will go for gold while riding past golden horses at the chateau de versailles. The Olympic Flame now on route. A Massive Police operation under way, and 45,000 volunteers chosen. I found out there was 165,000 applicants, and i was picked out of that, and im so excited. Reporter paris has never seen anything like it, and in 100 days, we all get to share the celebration. Keir simmons, nbc news, paris. 100 days will go quickly. That is nightly news for this wednesday. Thank you for watching, everyone. Im lester holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night. O ah seca n im raj mathai. Next on nbc bay area news tonight, an unprecedented move in the fight against fentanyl. Two roommates are now charged with murder after a baby dies of an overdose. Will this new tactic work . Were joined by the Santa Clara CountyDistrict Attorney jeff rosen. Also, is it a culture of bullying at a