Arrests. With new calls for University Leaders to restore order or step down. This is dangerous. This is not freedom of expression. This is not First Amendment. Were live with the latest on the growing unrest on campuses coast to coast. Legal drama. Multiple cases involving former President Trump coming to a head today. New indictments for his inner circumstance circle over 2020 interference. All while his historic hushmoney trial resumes in new york. Well break down whats at stake. Proof of life . Hamas releases new video of an american man captured during the october 7th attack. Alive, but appearing to be badly hurt. He certainly doesnt look like himself, but it was amazing to see him. How his family is responding this morning. Trouble in paradise. An american tourist facing 12 years in an island prison for what he says was an innocent mistake. Its the most awful thing that i have ever lived through at this point. His family desperately hoping for a resolution. I dont know whats in store for ryan. I dont know whats going to happen with our kids. What hes accused of and what happens next. Those stories, plus, summer shortages. Popular weight loss drugs already in short supply. I have been calling pharmacies every single day. Why they may be even harder to find this summer. And feeling the draft. With the first pick in the 2023 nfl draft it is draft night. The crowned jewel of the nfl offseason, with fans whipped into a frenzy. The likely number one pick, ready for the call. Being here, being at the draft, possibly being the number one pick, its crazy. We are on the clock, live from detroit with all the nfl guthrie and hoda kotb from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Good morning fanfare. Today, thursday, april 25th, 2024. Announcer from nbc news, this is today with Savannah Guthrie and hoda kotb, from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Good morning, guys. Welcome to today. Thanks for joining us. This is not a perspective you see very often unless youre flying into new york. That is central park, smack in the middle of manhattan. Beautiful greenery. I mean, isnt that nice to see . On a clear, gorgeous day, when people say, why do you live here . Thats our backyard, for people who know, who live in new york. Absolutely beautiful. Detroit is the center of the sports universe tonight. The nfl draft, Caleb Williams, the number one pick, expected to be. From usc, the quarterback. That will be a fun one. Well have more on the draft coming up. But we will begin with another night of chaos across a growing number of College Campuses coasttocoast. New protests forming over the issue of the war in gaza, from california, where nearly a hundred people were arrested at usc after refusing Police Commands to disperse, to ut austin where several faculty members say they will not teach today over the schools, quote, militarized response to an oncampus protest. To new york where House Speaker mike johnson was booed by students when he visited Columbia University, asking the schools president to step down. Those are a few of the growing number of schools where protests are taking place. Nbcs Stephanie Gosk joins us from new yorks Columbia University. Hey, steph, good morning. Reporter hoda, good morning. You know, Columbia University extended the deadline for the tent encampment here by 48 hours, but that deadline runs out tonight at midnight. And the students ive spoken with here say they arent going anywhere. As you mentioned, tension around the country is growing, its spreading, its leading to dramatic confrontations with police and dozens of arrests. The temperature this morning on some College Campuses, reaching a boiling point. A growing number of protests forming over the ongoing war in the middle east, at campuses across the country, some leading to standoffs, including the university of texas at austin. Students and police clashing during protests wednesday. More than 30 were taken into custody. Protesters gathered outside the jail, with some faculty saying in a statement, they would not work today. And overnight, police and protesters also clashing at the university of southern california. Get back get back reporter officers hit with objects arrested more than 90 people, though its unclear how many were students. And back on the east coast, a dramatic scene at emerson college. Where students are encamped on an alleyway in the middle of downtown boston. Police and demonstrators facing off. The tensions rising nationwide as reports of antisemitism and islamophobia have skyrocketed since last october, with the Antidefamation League and center for americanislamic relations each reporting recordhigh complaints. House Speaker Mike Johnson and other republican lawmakers at Columbia University wednesday, where they were shouted at by students. The lawmakers calling on the School President to resign over her handling of an encampment where Police Arrested dozens this week, and which some jewish students say has become a point of intimidation. The first responsibility of a University Administrator is to keep their students safe. If you were the president of Columbia University today, what would you do about this tent encampment . I would immediately bring order to the chaos. If necessary, i would call in the nypd. I would ask the governor to send in the national guard. Reporter the columbia board of trustees has expressed its support for the president , saying that she has struck that everimportant balance between freedom of speech and also ensuring the safety of jewish students, making sure theyre not harassed and intimidated on campus. Hoda . Steph, it seems like every day were reporting on another campus, where these protests are breaking out. So what happens next . Reporter well, theyre here to stay, according to the students ive spoken with here at columbia. And we were Walking Around that encampment yesterday, hoda, and i was struck by how well organized they are. They have a lot of food coming in. They have good tents, the weather is not that bad. They say they are willing to stay here until their demands are met, even if it means weeks, and in just three weeks, this campus is going to have its graduation, and it takes place exactly where that tent encampment is set up right now, hoda. Stephanie gosk for us there at columbia. Steph, thank you. Now, to a very busy legal day ahead for former president donald trump. His criminal trial resumes in new york, and the u. S. Supreme court, meanwhile, will begin hearing arguments in a critical case deciding whether he is immune from criminal prosecution over his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. All of this as members of his inner circle were indicted in a new case in arizona overnight. Weve got Team Coverage of all of these legal developments. Well start with nbcs senior legal correspondent, laura jarrett, live from the Supreme Court this morning. Laura, good morning. Reporter savannah, good morning to you. The justices are set to hear their final argument of the term here this morning on an issue they have never faced before. A former american president charged with trying to defraud the government he once led, arguing that he should be completely immune from prosecution. But the timing of the ultimate ruling, perhaps just as important as the substance of the decision itself. This morning, the high court forced to confront the key question that will determine if donald trump goes to trial for trying to overturn the last election before the election this november. This as the former president faces fresh legal jeopardy for his efforts to subvert the 2020 election results, this time in arizona where a staterun jury indicted is 1 republican officials wednesday for their unsuccessful ploy to award the electoral votes to mr. Trump, despite his election loss to President Biden. Among those indicted, his former chief of staff, mark meadows, and mr. Trumps former lawyer, rudy giuliani. I will not allow american democracy to be undermined. Its too important. Reporter mr. Trump is described as an unindicted coconspirator, but was not charged. Yet his efforts to stop the peaceful transfer of power we will never give up we will never concede. Reporter also at the heart of the case in front of the u. S. Supreme court today, as his legal team hopes to persuade the justices he should be held completely immune from the charges. Any acts he took while still president , his side argues, must be shielded from any prosecution. A president has to have immunity. If you dont have immunity, you just have a ceremonial president. Reporter but a federal Appeals Court was unpersuaded using stark hypotheticals on what a future president could do and still avoid criminal charges. Could a president order s. E. A. L. Team 6 to assassinate a political rival . Reporter in the view of mr. Trumps lawyer, yes. Special counsel jack smith has urged the high court to reject mr. Trumps immunity theory, and quickly. My office will seek a speedy trial in this matter. Reporter writing in court papers, a bedrock principle of our Constitutional Order is that no person is above the law, including the president. But the elephant in the courtroom, the impending election, as the prospect of a trial completed before november very much in doubt. Lets talk about this claim at the Supreme Court today, of president ial immunity. We know that a person cant by longstanding practice in tradition, cant be prosecuted while he is in office, but this is about criminal acts allegedly taken outside of office, potentially. So how broad is this claim here . Reporter savannah, the claim is so broad, so vast, that i think thats why so many observed that the justices are unlikely to hand him a complete win, a complete full stop saying that hes completely immune. Because if he is, then he can do anything in office, including trying to have a political rival assassinated. It seems unlikely the court will go that far. But they can do things far short of that. And they might be interested in trying to uphold some limited immunity for official acts, things that happened when he was actually president. And thats where the rubber will meet the road on this. If this trial is delayed past election day, no matter what happens today at the Supreme Court, that is a victory and part of the legal strategy for the trump team, isnt it . Reporter thats right. And even if sort of he gets a legal loss here, savannah, if you will, the fact that were even here today in front of the Supreme Court instead of at a trial is a loss in some ways for the special counsels office that wanted to try to take ka this case to trial as quickly as possible. In fact, there are a variety of different scenarios, including the Supreme Court saying, were not sure that theres actual immunity here and we have to send the case all the way back down to the trial court to do a little bit more work on that. That, too, would be a loss for the special counsels office, savannah. Okay. And we now have another case. This one comes out of arizona, a state case indicting several individuals. Donald trump is not mentioned by name. Is there a chance this case could reach him at some point . What are the ramifications of it . Reporter right. Even though hes not indicted, so many members of his inner circle are indicted in this case, that it jeopardizes him to the extent that they could try to cooperate. We saw this in georgia. So if they put the squeeze on all of those individuals and flip on him, thats where the risk comes into play, savannah. Laura jarrett, big day at the court. Thank you. Lets move to day seven of Donald Trumps hush money criminal trial right here in new york city. This morning, the former president back in court. He has pleaded not guilty on 34 charges of falsifying business records. The former publisher of the national enquirer, david pecker, is expected to continue his testimony today. He told jurors earlier this week about arrangements to, quote, catch and kill stories that could have hurt trumps 2016 campaign, like one involving adult film star, stormy daniels. Here to offer some perspective on that, criminal defense attorney, Danny Cevallos and nbc news legal analyst. Danny, good morning. Before we get to the testimony, we had a hearing in court about the gag order and alleged violations of the gag order. How do you think judge marchan will handle this . I thought Justice Marchan might have handled this yesterday, but he was catching up on administrative business. I think hes got a really difficult decision. You could say that every single gag order, theyre relatively rare, but every gag order is a close constitutional call, because it brings competing constitutional interests directly in conflict. You have a First Amendment right to speak, you have the publics interest in a fair trial, and the judge has to control the courtroom and protect witnesses and i think even especially jurors. So this is a difficult choice. I think, as he has done in the past, he likes to split the difference. He might impose fines, probably in the thousanddollar range, which is significant. The people have asked for that dollar amount, i believe, because theyre trying to establish the bottom rung of a ladder, and in incremental ways, thats how sanctions work, they will eventually get to the end of the ladder, if they need to, which is as crazy as this sounds, incarcerating the president to punish him for violating a gag order. All right. Meanwhile, back to the testimony. David pecker, the prosecutions first witness, who talked about this strategy to catch and kill stories that were unflattering to trump, trying to frame this case as a way of the that the hush money falls into this pattern of trying to influence the election. What do you expect when crossexamination starts . Forget michael cohen, i think that david pecker is the peoples star witness. Were only one witness in and hes not even halfway completed his testimony, but the government must have known he would be good, they started out with a bang. Hes talking about a subject matter that people find fascinating. The underbelly of paycheck or excuse me, checkbook journalism. Everybody is interested in hearing that. I know i am. Hes somebody who knew trump personally and he has less credibility issues than michael cohen. Hes a compelling witness and a good one for the people. Im sitting here wondering, what are they even going to crossexamination him on . We shall see. Danny, thank you very much. 7 15. Craig joins the table with some video just released of a hostage that seems to be in better health. Just released. Hoda, savannah, good morning. Good morning to you as well. The last time his family saw american hostage Hersh Goldberg polin, he was badly injured. He was being captured during the october 7th attack. Well now, now more than six months later, they are hearing from him and theyre also holding out hope he will come home. Nbcs raf sanchez is live for us in jerusalem. Raf, good morning. Reporter craig, good morning. For 200 days, john and Rachel Goldberg polin had no idea whether their son hersh was alive or dead until they saw this video. We just wrapped up an interview with them here in jerusalem, and they tell us they will not rest until there is a deal to bring home not just hersh but all the remaining hostages. Reporter this morning, the fbi looking for clues in this hamas video of americanisraeli hostage, Hersh Goldberg polin and his parents getting a first glimpse of their missing son. The video is undated and shows hirsch has lost his left hand, but hes alive. His family gave us permission to show the footage. What was it like for you to see that video . I mean, initially, you know, we were just crying. This was a tremendous validation and on the other hand, we see him. Hes in captivity, hes obviously suffering with this missing dominant arm. He certainly doesnt look like himself, but it was amazing to see him and amazing to see that he speaks like himself with clarity and strength. Reporter the last sighting of their son was only october 7th, as he was kidnapped from the super nova music festival, his left arm badly damaged by hamas grenade. Rachel and john have campaigned tirelessly for their sons release. Since october 7th, a painful daily ritual. So every day, i write the number of days its been since hersh was stolen. Reporter hersh is one of five Americans Still believed to be alive in hamas captivity. Four others were released last year, including 4yearold abigail edan, the youngest american, who yesterday became the first freed hostage to meet President Biden at the white house, but israel says 133 hostages are still in gaza. At least 36 of them confirmed dead. How do you stay hopeful . We say all the time, hope is mandatory. Its not really a choice. Its mandatory. Reporter hope is mandatory. While the world saw that hostage video for the first time last night, a source tells nbc news that hamas passed it to qatar several days ago, who in turn passed it to the u. S. Government. Craig . Hope is mandatory, indeed. Raf sanchez in jerusalem, thank you. Lets move to the nba playoffs now. A big upset last night in boston. Here a little sidestep three. Its good again miami heat hitting a franchise playoff record, 23 threepointers. They go on to win it, 111101. That series all tied up at a game a piece. Game three saturday in miami. And in oklahoma city, the thunder take a commanding 2zip lead in their series against the new orleans pelicans. Okc wins easily, the score there 12492. The pelicans wont have much of a shot unless williamson comes back. Yeah, i was just about to say that. Werent you . Its like you were readi