His decisions do not reflect the moral compass of ourselves, the students. Maurice the Cbs Evening News starts now. Good evening, and thank you for being with us. Im maurice dubois. Norah is on assignment. Tonight, we are following escalating propalestinian protests on campuses around the country. In california, police in helmets and riot gear cleared a lecture hall at uc irvine, arresting 50 people. Chicago Police Arrested two protesters at Depaul University while clearing that encampment. At least five students chained themselves to columns at the university of oregon, and at the university of michigan, protesters placed fake bloody body bags outside the private home of a school board member. These scenes are playing out in the middle of graduation season, and this weekend, President Biden could step into the fray when he travels to georgia to give the Commencement Address at Morehouse College. Cbss Nikole Killion reports on how the school and the white house are preparing for possible disruptions. Reporter tonight, at Morehouse College in atlanta, fences started going up around the campus ahead of President Bidens Commencement Address this weekend, as concerns build for possible protests. The schools president , david thomas, warned he will halt Graduation Ceremonies if demonstrations erupt. If my choice is 20 people being arrested on national tv on the morehouse campus, taken away in zip ties during our commencement, before we would reach that point, i would conclude the ceremony. Free, free palestine reporter for weeks, some students and faculty have challenged leaders at the historically black college to rescind bidens invitation over his administrations response to the war between israel and hamas. We feel that all of his decisions do not reflect the moral compass of ourselves, the students, of this institution, and largely, of the black american population. Reporter last week, the white house dispatched Senior AdvisorStephen Benjamin to meet with students on campus. I think as long as there are peaceful protests that dont disrupt the amazing moment that is for each of those graduates there today, i think well all consider it a success. Reporter the president s visit comes at a critical time in a critical battleground state. Biden flipped georgia in 2020, but if the election were held today, a recent New York Times siena poll shows him losing to former President Trump by ten points, as both candidates try to shore up support with black voters. Look, trump hurt black people every chance he got. Reporter engineering graduate Fabin Nwaduba wants to keep politics out of it. I mean, this is like one of the happiest days of my life. You know, they come over and ruin it, i dont know, im gonna be hurt. Reporter today, morehouse faculty voted in favor of conferring an Honorary Degree on President Biden. The white house says the president isnt concerned that his visit could overshadow sundays graduation and that he plans to engage with students and faculty while hes here. Maurice . Maurice Nikole Killion in atlanta tonight, thank you. Michael cohen faced hours of intense questioning today at former President Trumps criminal trial. Defense attorneys accusing him of lying and attacking his character and his testimony. Cbss robert costa once again tonight from the courthouse in lower manhattan. Reporter former President Donald Trump appeared to be closely watching as his defense tore into the credibility of Michael Cohen, who has acknowledged lying under oath in past cases. The last time i appeared before congress, i came to protect mr. Trump. Today, i am here to tell the truth. Reporter as the prosecutions star witness, cohen says he lied because of his loyalty to trump and has testified He Paid Adult Film StarStormy Daniels 130,000 to suppress her account of an alleged sexual encounter with trump to stave off a scandal ahead of the 2016 election. And cohen has testified he called thencandidate trump to update him about the transaction. But on thursday, defense attorney todd blanche Accused Cohen of lying about the call and instead claimed cohen was reaching out to trumps bodyguard to get help because he was receiving harassing phone calls from a 14yearold prankster. Part of it was the 14yearold, cohen testified, saying he discussed the prank calls while also updating trump about the deal. The prosecution misses that Michael Cohen was talking and complaining about some teenager who was pranking him. Thats an unforgivable miss. Reporter in an effort to raise doubts about cohen, blanche played comments from 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 cohen was sentenced to three years in prison amid the fallout of a federal investigation related to his payments to daniels. Although he admitted to violating Campaign Finance laws, he believes he was wrongly charged with tax evasion. I have never asked for, nor would i accept, a pardon from President Trump. Reporter in another tense exchange, that past testimony was brought up today, and cohen said he and his attorneys did explore a pardon from trump. In court, trump was again joined by several republicans from capitol hill, who spoke out against Michael Cohens testimony, while trump remains under a gag order. And they are all up in arms over this, they cant even believe it. Reporter cohen will be back on the Witness Stand on monday, and trumps team could finish up its crossexamination that day. A source close to trump tells me he might want to take the Witness Stand, but for now, thats unlikely. Maurice . Maurice robert costa in New York City tonight, thank you. Back here in washington, House Republicans are pushing to hold attorney general Merrick Garland in contempt of congress. Thats because of garlands refusal to hand over Audio Recordings of President Bidens interview with special counsel robert hur, who declined to recommend charges in bidens classified documents case. The Justice Department released transcripts from that interview, but today, the president asserted Executive Privilege over the recordings. Turning to the israelhamas war, desperatelyneeded humanitarian aid could soon be on its way to the people of gaza, as the u. S. Military has finished building a floating pier just off shore. And tonight, we are hearing heartbreaking accounts from american medics, bearing witness to the horrors of the war and its most innocent victims. Here is cbss imtiaz tyab. Reporter with the massive u. S. Militaryconstructed pier now in position, hundreds of tons of desperatelyneeded aid will start arriving in gaza in a matter of days. And the aid cant come soon enough for the almost 2 million displaced and for those facing famine. But for 10yearold somaya, who lost her arm in an israeli air strike, what she needs is advanced medical care. I want the border crossings open, she says, so i can get a new arm and be like everyone else. Also trapped inside gaza are around 20 american medics, doing all they can while they wait to be allowed to go home after the two main crossings in the south were closed. We reached dr. Mahmoud sabha from texas and nurse Monica Johnson from oregon. So, you know, we came in with such good intentions, obviously, and wanting to help and save lives. We havent had a single Wound Patient in the icu that has made it out. Reporter not a single one . No. Reporter most of their patients are kids. She had glitter on her fingernails. She had this colored hair. These things like these things it it really affects you because, in this, you really see the innocence. Theyre broken, and they are empty. So the thought of leaving them and. You know, leaving them while theyre so empty is heartbreaking. Reporter and tonight, the Israeli Military has confirmed it sent more troops into the Southern City of rafah as israels government is expected to approve widening the offensive there. Maurice . Maurice imtiaz tyab in tel aviv tonight, thank you. Tonight, parts of texas and louisiana are facing possibly lifethreatening Flash Flooding from another round of extreme rain. Lets bring in meteorologist mike bettes, from our partners at the weather channel. Good evening, mike. Good evening. Heavy thunderstorms and heavy rain becoming a major concern, now and through the weekend, along the gulf coast. You notice this area with a high risk highlighted in red. That means a significant threat for some flooding. Even areas from alexandria back toward dallas could experience some flooding. But what does that mean, a high risk . Well, how about this stat . Highrisk days, they happen less than a handful of days a year but account for over 39 of all floodrelated deaths in the united states. Moderaterisk days account for 17 . Heavy rain, texas and louisiana through the night tonight. Heavy rain all across the southeast. Through the day tomorrow, as well, some storms return again for us tomorrow evening and even into our weekend. In total, a lot of places here will pick up 2 to 3 inches of rain, with pockets of 3 to 5 or even isolated areas of 5 inches or more which, of course, leads to a very dangerous flood risk. Maurice okay, mike bettes, thank you. Now to our investigation into how thousands of guns, once carried by police officers, are turning up at crime scenes around the country. Cbs news partnered with nonprofit newsrooms the trace and reveal to survey nearly 200 Police Departments nationwide, and most told us they trade or sell their used guns. Here is cbs news investigative correspondent stephen stock. A person shot. Reporter indianapolis. Black male shot. Reporter has a gun problem. Ems is en route. Reporter Firearm Deaths of young people last year jumped 70 . Another family lost another child at the hands of a firearm that shouldnt even be on the streets. It shouldnt even be on the streets. Reporter candace leslies only child was shot to death. Cbs news discovered one of the guns involved in Cameron Browns death was once owned by a Sheriffs Department 2300 miles away in stanislaus county, california. There is no reason for Police Firearms to be in the hands of teenagers. I would say to camerons mom, im very sorry for your loss, but my organization had nothing to do with it. Reporter sheriff jeff dirkses agency is one of more than 140 nationwide that we learned sell or trade in their used weapons when they update their arsenals. Its a legal transaction. Ill go back, so if i legally sold my old used patrol cars and somebody uses that in the commission of a crime, is that our responsibility . I would say no. Reporter dirkse says he saved taxpayers 25,000 last time he traded in about 650 guns. During a 16year time period ending in february 2022, the atf traced 52,529 former Police Service weapons to crime somewhere in america. On average, thats more than 3200 guns every year. 9 every day. And our analysis of Atf Documents shows guns in crime traced to Law Enforcement agencies nationwide. In indianapolis, like so Many American cities with a gun problem, the Police Department trades in its weapons. As a police chief, i dont want anything, any weapon that we owned to end up being used violently against another person in our country. Reporter youd be open to stopping that practice . Well, id have to see, you know, the taxpayers pay for these things. Reporter camerons mother says there is a greater cost. This one gun has hit home for me. Its changed my life forever. Reporter changed by a gun originally meant to protect and serve. Maurice, the atf is required under federal law to melt down its guns. The White House Office for gun violence prevention would not agree to talk to us. Maurice eyeopening reporting. Stephen stock, thanks so much. Tonight, a preview of Norah Odonnells oneofakind interview with pope francis on this sundays 60 minutes. The head of the Catholic Church shares his views on a range of issues, including a big shift under his leadership. Norah last year, you decided to allow catholic priests to bless samesex couples. Thats a big change. Why . Interpreter no, what i allowed was not to bless the union. That cannot be done because that is not the sacrament. I cannot. The lord made it that way. But to bless each person, yes. The blessing is for everyone. For everyone. To bless a homosexual type union, however, goes against the given rite, against the law of the church. But to bless each person . Why not . The blessing is for all. Some people were scandalized by this, but why . Everyone, everyone. Norah you have said who am i to judge . Homosexuality is not a crime. Interpreter no, its a human fact. Maurice and you can watch norahs interview with pope francis on this sundays 60 minutes, followed by a primetime special on monday right here on cbs. Dont miss it. A man convicted of killing a black lives matter protester is pardoned after serving just one year in prison. Well have the details next. With my Psoriatic Arthritis symptoms. But just ok isnt ok. And i was done settling. If you still have symptoms after a tnf blocker like humira or enbrel, rinvoq is different and may help. Rinvoq is a oncedaily pill that can rapidly relieve relieve fatigue. 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Imagine a future where plastic is not wasted. But instead remade over and over. Into the things that keep our food fresher, our families safer, and our planet cleaner. To help us get there, americas plastic makers are investing billions of dollars to create Innovative Products and new Recycling Technologies for sustainable change. Because when you push for smarter solutions, big things can happen. Maurice a texas man who had been serving 25 years in maurice a texas man who had been serving 25 years in prison for the murder of a black lives matter protester was granted a full pardon today. Texas Governor Greg Abbott announcing the move shortly after the Texas Board Of Pardons And Paroles made its recommendation. Former Army Sergeant daniel perry claims he shot Garrett Foster in selfdefense during a protest over the murder of george floyd in 2020. 70 years after the landmark brown versus board of ed ruling, the School District at the center of the case is making history again. 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