tonight, the state of emergency in michigan as severe storms threaten more than 50 million people from texas to virginia. the deadly new threat after days of relentless severe weather. dozens of tornadoes tearing across the central u.s. and deep

south. in michigan, the side ripped off a massive fedex facility. a home flipped upside down. our team in the storm zone, and the forecast coming up. and just in tonight, president biden saying he will stop sending bombs to israel if it goes ahead with its ground offensive in rafah. donald trump winning another legal delay and another chance to remove d.a. fani willis from his georgia election case. congresswoman marjorie taylor greene pushing her hand on a motion to oust speaker mike johnson as boos erupt in the house. the fedex plane landing on its nose after its front gear fails. smoke and sparks flying. the investigation tonight. president biden in battleground wisconsin announcing a major investment in a.i. and taking aim at donald trump over a failed project at the same site. after our series of reports on complaints of racism, and homophobic

bullying at a texas school district, the feds now taking action. and one of the mysteries of the deep may be solved. what are whales saying to each other? turns out they may have their own alphabet. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening, and welcome. for weeks now, millions in the midwest and plains have been living in a virtual line of fire from violent storms that have unleashed more than 100 tornadoes since the start of the month. michigan, the latest in the bull's-eye, homes destroyed in kalamazoo county. tens of thousands across the state were left in the dark. in portage, the side of a fedex facility ripped away, and the threat zone is only expanding tonight. right now, 51 million people living under a severe storm risk in an area stretching from texas to virginia, with tornado watches posted in several states. we'll get to the latest forecast from bill karins in a moment, but first maggie vespa with a look at the destruction.

>> reporter: a vicious cycle of violent spring weather strikes again. >> large tornado right here. >> reporter: tonight in storm-battered tennessee, one person is dead after authorities say a tree fell on a car north of knoxville, and this warehouse evacuated after its roof caved in. in southern michigan, fierce winds overnight ripping a massive chunk out of this fedex facility revealing multiple stories of fallen metal and wires. fedex writing, we are grateful there were no serious injuries. in all tuesday, close to 30 reported tornadoes tore across eight states making for more than 60 twisters this week. in portage, michigan, neighborhoods are shredded, close to a dozen people hospitalized. this house flipped completely upside down with a couple in their 60s. inside -- >> your cousin was effectively buried alive. >> under this house. yeah, and it was over an hour before they could get her out with just her arms sticking out. >> reporter: sisters kathy and ann say

firefighters dug their cousin out unharmed. her husband, who was thrown into the yard, suffered a broken neck. the family back today to save photos. >> it's hitting me right now. >> yeah, yeah. >> it's been hitting us all morning. >> all morning. >> yeah. >> yeah, i mean, it was scary. it was scary what they went through. you know, i cry for them because of the trauma of what they went through. >> yeah. >> with all the great support, they're going to be okay. >> reporter: the same sort of devastation that's played out all week. points, a deadly ef-4 decimating parts of oklahoma monday. meanwhile, texas now at risk for more damaging winds and hail days after torrential floods ravaged the state. amid our climate crisis, the behavior of these severe systems is shifting with supercell storms that spawn twisters becoming stronger and so-called tornado alley trending east toward more populated areas in mississippi, tennessee, and the ohio river valley. back in southern michigan -- >> it feels like

i'm at a funeral. >> reporter: dawn nico's home is the latest destroyed. >> i cried all day yesterday. it's, like, the end of time. all the destruction. >> maggie joining us from michigan and, maggie, that fedex facility behind you is certainly proof of the power of these storms yet understand there were no serious injuries. >> reporter: yeah, lester, that's right. no serious injuries and no reported death. michigan's governor saying today that in that respect, people feel very lucky, but adding, quote, the devastation is real. lester. >> maggie vespa, thank you. the extreme weather very much a threat for tens of millions tonight. bill karins is tracking it. bill, new reports of tornadoes even this evening. >> yeah, on our way to another tornado outbreak. already eight reported today and the worst of these storms has been in tennessee, kentucky, and missouri, reporting a damaging tornado already in missouri and softball to grapefruit-size hail reported with that storm. already 162 severe weather reports, and we're just getting started. we have tornado watches this portions

of 11 states from texas all the way through missouri back into areas of tennessee, and the strongest storms so far have been focused really to the most part nashville up into western kentucky. especially from bowling green up towards evansville and areas south of st. louis, and, unfortunately, we do it all over again tomorrow. severe weather expected from dallas through the south and up the east coast into washington, d.c. not tornadoes but a lot of wind damage tomorrow. >> i know you and the team will be watching carefully. tension is deepening after president biden halted a shipment of weapons to israel. the president saying late tonight he won't supply the weapons for a major israeli operation in rafah. andrea mitchell has late details. >> reporter: tonight in a stinging rebuke of a close american ally, president biden halting a weapons shipment of 3,500 bombs to israel, just as israeli troops are targeting hamas in

rafah. >> they go into rafah. they haven't gone into rafah yet. they go into rafah, i'm not supplying the weapons used historically to deal with rafah. >> reporter: fearing israeli forces could drop 2,000-bombs on rafah as it did on a suspected terrorist killing civilians last fall. >> shouldn't we have concerns for what it means for the civilian population there and the way israel has acted? >> reporter: the move angering many republicans. >> i think it's a hugely irresponsible decision. there should never be any question about america's commitment, the united states' commitment to israel. >> reporter: an israeli official saying there is deep frustration over the u.s. decision and tonight also a rift over humanitarian aid with the rafah border crossing now occupied by israeli tanks, aid not getting through. the state department calling that unacceptable. it comes despite secretary of state blinken's repeated urgings about aid to

gaza, as he told me in israel last week. >> and it's imperative that they get the food that they need, the water they need. >> reporter: william burns is back at cease-fire talks in cairo after meeting with prime minister netanyahu. u.s. officials telling nbc news israel wants rafah to be excluded from any cease-fire. an israeli official denies it still, the state department said today an agreement that could halt the fighting and bring home the hostages is within reach. lester. >> andrea, thanks. marjorie taylor greene calling for a vote to remove mike johnson then democrats jumping in. the speaker is now weighing in. >> reporter: that's right. this has been brewing for weeks. conservative republican marjorie taylor greene had threatened to call this vote, finally doing it tonight where she was booed on the house floor. listen.

>> declaring the office of speaker of the house of representatives to be vacant. [ booing ] >> reporter: supporters of mike johnson quickly offered up a motion to end her effort and the vote was overwhelmingly in johnson's favor including some democrats. now, greene forced the vote despite opposition from virtually every republican as well as former president trump. earlier in the week greene gave johnson a long list of demands. but johnson did not back down calling her aim misguided and hoped it was the end of personality politics in congress. lester. >> ryan nobles, thank you. now to former president trump's legal battles. a georgia appeals court giving the former president at least a temporary victory in his election interference case brought by d.a. fani willis. laura jarrett joins us. laura, what did the court say? >> well, lester, the court has now given mr. trump permission to appeal that decision from march that kept the

d.a. on the case but prompted her to remove nathan wade, her ex-boyfriend, who had led the prosecution. now, mr. trump still wants the d.a. disqualified, so this appeal will slow down the georgia case considerably with the d.c. election interference case still in limbo, and the florida classified documents trial now indefinitely on hold, all of it making it all but uncertain the hush money trial will be the only case done by november, and stormy daniels is, of course, expected back on the stand here in manhattan tomorrow, lester. >> okay, laura, thanks very much. in battleground wisconsin president biden tried to sell voters on the strength of the u.s. economy, but as peter alexander reports, he is still facing plenty of skepticism. >> reporter: president biden in wisconsin tonight, his fourth visit to the crucial battleground this year announcing the creation of a multibillion dollar a.i. datacenter, and microsoft promising thousands of jobs. >> we're seeing the great comeback story across wisconsin and

quite frankly the entire country. >> reporter: the president also trying to cast a contrast at the same site where then president trump announced a $10 billion electronics factory, but that never materialized. >> look what happened. they dug a hole with those goldman shovels and then they fell into it. [ laughter ] >> reporter: union worker eric stolz voted for trump in 2020, but is backing the president now. >> what does new manufacturing mean? >> everything to me, my family, to my community. the whole state of wisconsin. go outside. look at the cranes. look at the roads. >> reporter: still, president biden has a lot of convincing to do. a poll shows americans trust mr. trump over the president on the economy and inflation by double digits while two-thirds of americans say they're living paycheck to paycheck. mr. trump slamming president biden just last week. >> it's called the new tax. it's called inflation tax. we call it the biden inflation tax. >> reporter: at the sugar shack in

downtown racine, michele noonan's family business are thriving but rising prices are taking a toll. just a lot more challenges for business owners these days. >> yeah, everything costs more. >> reporter: the noonans now always looking to spend less. >> i feel like it was easier four years ago. i could just go to work, come home, not worry about so much. >> reporter: here in wisconsin president biden also warned in the starkest terms yet he believes if mr. trump loses, he will not accept the election results this fall. lester. all right, peter, thank you. tensions in the middle east leading to new disruptions as graduation season gets off to a rocky start with commencements on some campuses and arrests on others. liz kreutz has late developments. [ crowd chanting ] >> reporter: across college campuses nationwide another tense day as more universities crack down on pro-palestinian protests ahead of graduation. at george washington university, police using pepper spray overnight to disburse a crowd of

demonstrators there. at umass amherst, roughly 130 arrested after refusing to leave their encampment while student protesters continue to barricade themselves into a building at the rhode island school of design. these new clashes coming as a house committee led by republicans grilled k through 12 administrators today on capitol hill accusing elementary and high schools of letting anti-semitism run rampant in their classrooms. >> what are you doing to keep students safe, and how can we stop this? >> reporter: new york city school's chancellor, david banks, pushing back on the line of questioning. >> if we really care about solving anti-semitism, and i believe this deeply, it's not about having gotcha moments, it's about teaching. you have to raise the consciousness of young people. >> they're pushing forward now. >> reporter: meanwhile, an investigation is under way at ucla into the violence that broke out after counterprotesters attacked a pro-palestinian encampment last week. according to law enforcement sources who spoke to the "los

angeles times," police are using photo recognition technology similar to what was used after the january 6th attacks on the capitol to identify the counterprotesters. at nearby university of southern california, a police chopper circled overhead as graduation celebrations got under way. the school canceled its main commencement ceremony due to safety concerns. >> i think for administrators, myself included, there's a lot of attention to how do you make sure we pull this off with minimal disruption. >> reporter: pedro noguera is the dean of usc's school of education, but 40 years ago he was a student at uc berkeley leading the protest against south african apartheid with demands for divestment like pro-palestinian students are making now. >> what's your message to the student protesters now? >> my message is educate. educate others. engage in dialogue. i know it's hard, but don't just talk to the people you agree with already. >> reporter: and,

lester, as scaled-back graduation celebrations begin and things remain tense on campus, a counter rally is scheduled tonight. what federal tonight. what federal officials are n ♪♪ missing out on the things you love because of asthma? get back to better breathing with fasenra, an add-on treatment for eosinophilic asthma that is taken once every 8 weeks. fasenra is not for sudden breathing problems or other eosinophilic conditions. allergic reactions may occur. don't stop your asthma treatments without talking with your doctor. tell your doctor if your asthma worsens. headache and sore throat may occur. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. step back out there with fasenra. ask your doctor if it's right for you. that grimy film on your teeth? dr. g? (♪♪) it's actually the buildup of plaque bacteria which can cause cavities. most toothpastes quit working in minutes. but crest pro-health's antibacterial fluoride protects all day.

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don't feel entirely at home? >> i think that it strips them of their identity, and i think that they leave a shell of the person that they once were. >> reporter: documents reviewed by nbc news show this week the department of education notified carroll schools that it intends to negotiate with the district over four students' civil rights complaints and spoke to a lawyer for the students. >> when the department of education of civil rights notifies the district they're being invited to negotiate resolution of a complaint, it means they have made a formal finding that the school district violated the complainants' civil rights. >> reporter: this >> reporter: christian was 12 years old and had just left the district when we met him in 2022. >> what were kids saying? >> they were using gay slurs and, like, being very rude to me. >> reporter: southlake was thrust into the national spotlight in 2018 when a video of students chanting the "n" word went viral. a group of conservative residents then defeated a proposed diversity and inclusion plan. >> by the time my youngest was in ninth

grade, he was getting called the "n" word pretty regularly. >> reporter: mom angela jones filed one of the federal complaints. >> i knew that my children's civil rights had been violated, but to have the department of education come out and say they agree, that meant the world to me. >> reporter: southlake's carroll school district today did not respond to request for comment, but in august of 2021 we sat down with superintendent lane led better. >> is there racism in southlake and carroll id? >> let me think about that question. i'm going to stop there. i think it goes back to people understanding each other almost from an empathy standpoint, just being understand varying perspectives and differences. >> reporter: angela jones' children have already left the school but believes she has an obligation to the students still

there. >> i can't sit here and let those children face the exact same thing my children faced. that's not being a good citizen. >> it seems like here the d.o.e. is raising the stakes essentially. what happens next? >> well, according to the department of education, the district will have to negotiate an agreement to, quote, remedy both the individual discrimination at issue, as well as any systemic discrimination. if they don't cooperate, legal experts tell us they could lose federal funding or face judicial proceedings. >> all right, antonia, thank you. coming up, a dramatic landing of a fedex plane touching down without its front landing gear extended. and the plea deal by the former interpreter for shohei ohtani accused of stealing millions from the biggest superstar in baseball. with nurtec odt, i found relief. the only migraine medication that helps treat and prevent, all in one. to those with migraine, i see you. for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura and the preventive treatment of episodic migraine in adults. don't take if allergic to nurtec odt.

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some anxious moments today as a fedex plane landed in istanbul. the boeing 767 cargo plane's nose scraping on the runway after its front landing gear failed to deploy. the plane managed to come to a stop on the runway. no injuries were reported. also tonight, a major development involving the former interpreter for baseball superstar shohei ohtani. the justice department saying he has agreed to plead guilty to two federal charges for illegally transferring $17 million out of ohtani's account to pay off his own gambling debts. and a major milestone in our

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ing the haunting sounds of whales have long intrigued us. now we're learning how these giants of the sea speak. here's anne thompson. >> reporter: to you and me, the underwater noises sperm whales make sound like tapping, but these vocalizations, scientists say, are actually language and more sophisticated than imagined in "finding nemo." >> dory, dory, this is not whale. >> reporter: the series of clicks are called codas. the scientists say they are the building blocks of communication between these mammoth sea creatures. far from arbitrary, a new study published in "nature" found whales use four different

elements, rhythm and tempo, to create a phonetic alphabet. >> how does this all work? >> it essentially looks at the speed at which they're saying things, the kind of different texture emphasis on how i said something. >> reporter: researchers from dr. david gruber's cetacean translation initiative made note of these snippets trying to figure out what they are saying is the next step. >> do you think it's possible one day we could talk to whales? >> i think it will be possible to be able to be sending information back and forth. we're not really sure what it's going to look like. that's the kind of cool thing. >> reporter: and become a real-life dr. doolittle learning the abcs of the deep. anne thompson, nbc news. that's "nightly news" for this wednesday. thank you for watching, everyone. i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. go night.od

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