Daily Briefing: 'Women are gonna hate me'

Michael Cohen took a Manhattan jury step by step through Donald Trump's alleged efforts to buy the silence of an adult film star. U.S. officials are in Ukraine as it battles a new push by Russia into its northeastern corridor. A USA TODAY investigation helped end a decades-long search for three girls' attacker.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. I can't wait to see these musicals.

Cohen says Trump approved reimbursement scheme

Michael Cohen, a key witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial, will continue testifying Tuesday after he provided the Manhattan jury with details of Trump's response to the threat of adult film star Stormy Daniels coming forward in 2016.

Crucially for the prosecution, Trump's former lawyer said on Monday said Trump authorized him to pay Daniels $130,000 to stay quiet about an alleged affair in an effort to protect Trump's campaign prospects.

• "Women are gonna hate me," Trump said, according to Cohen. Cohen also said Trump anticipated "a lot of women coming forward" with stories during the campaign.

• In key testimony for the prosecution, Cohen met with Trump and then-Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg and Trump allegedly approved the plan to repay Cohen for the Daniels hush money through a scheme that involved stretching out payments over 12 months in 2017.

• Cohen's testimony contradicts Trump's defense strategy of claiming the hush money was about protecting his relationships with his family and speaks to Trump's knowledge of the alleged scheme to reimburse Cohen while falsifying what the payments to Cohen were for.

Blinken visits Kyiv

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Kyiv by train on Tuesday morning in the first visit by a senior Biden administration official to the war-torn country since the U.S. passed a long-delayed $61 billion military aid package and as Russian forces appear to be making advances near Kharkiv, Ukraine's second biggest city. The trip was not previously disclosed.

More news to know now

• Biden to set huge new tariffs on electric vehicles and other goods from China.

• Nebraska's Don Bacon must fend off a tough Republican challenge in November.

• Will ballot drop boxes live to see another day in Wisconsin?

• Chris Edley, legal and education scholar, has died.

• On today's The Excerpt podcast, why some consumer advocates argue on behalf of landlines. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your smart speaker.

What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.

Maryland holds a tough primary amid Tuesday races

Voters in three states will cast ballots in competitive primaries on Tuesday, including in pivotal Senate races that will set the stage for the November general election. In Maryland, the race to replace Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., who's retiring at the end of the year, is already among the most expensive elections in the state's history. In West Virginia and Nebraska, Tuesday’s Republican primaries are expected to all but determine the winner of congressional and state elections in November. Read more

Hurricane season could be 'extremely active'

The El Niño climate pattern is transitioning toward La Niña, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. There's a 60% chance La Niña will form by June into August, and a higher chance by fall, leading to a likely impact on the hurricane season. That outlook is consistent with recent projections of a 2024 hurricane season that will be "extremely active," according to Colorado State University. But how does La Niña influence hurricanes?

Keep scrolling

• The "Taylor Swift baby" went viral at her concert.

• Howard University canceled a nurses' graduation mid-ceremony after a door was smashed.

• Get the best spring wedding guest dresses.

• The CW is "evaluating" its relationship with pageants.

• Comet the Shih Tzu is a top Toy pup.

Three girls hitched a ride to a teen hangout. They never got there.

Note to readers: This story contain graphic descriptions of violence.

For nearly half a century, one man dominated Kathie Rottler’s nightmares. He turned the darkness into something she, her little sister and her childhood friend would forever fear. All three could picture the man’s face and the clothes he was wearing on Aug. 19, 1975, when he brutalized them. Rottler’s quest for answers to those questions would span decades – past her marriage, past the births of her children and grandchildren, past the loss of loved ones. She never gave up. USA TODAY/IndyStar has followed these three women’s quest for answers for years. Kathie finally has answers.

Photo of the day: Baltimore bridge span demolished

Crews in Baltimore "successfully" detonated controlled explosives on Monday to remove a large section of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge from the bow of cargo ship Dali that struck the bridge in March, officials said.

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump trial, Michael Cohen, Ukraine, China, primary, Taylor Swift, Caitlin Clark: Daily Briefing