Hey there! From CNN, I'm Krista Bo with the five things you need to know for Friday, May 3rd.

A person who was once considered one of Donald Trump's closest confidants and insiders is now on the stand as the next witness in the former president's criminal hush money trial. Hope Hicks worked on the 2016 campaign during the time frame in question. CNN's Paula Reid explains why prosecutors want the jury to hear from her and how close she was to Trump at the time.

'They're going to try to tie the fact that he is a hands on manager to their accusation that Michael Cohen paid this hush money ahead of the 2016 campaign to help Trump get elected. He knew this was happening, and then he was aware the documents were falsified when Michael Cohen was reimbursed. So this seeming, you know, like throwaway comments by a lot of people about how involved he was in his day-to-day business – either at the Trump Organization or the Trump campaign – will be significant for the prosecutors.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

'Colleges and students across America and Europe continue to clash over pro-Palestinian protests in the US. More than 2,000 people have been arrested on college and university campuses in at least 25 states since April 18th, according to CNN's review, with many protesters wanting schools to divest financially from Israel. School officials at Stanford University say they have asked the FBI to investigate a photo of an individual wearing a Hamas headband at a campus encampment and in New York City. The new school has switched to online learning after police were brought in to arrest protesters who had trespassed, according to a university spokesperson. The NYPD said they had cleared the encampment at NYU this morning at the school's request.

Texas is dealing with some severe weather of all kinds today, after several days of heavy rainfall, large hail, and even tornadoes in the state. A mandatory evacuation is underway for parts of metro Houston, as millions of people as far east as Louisiana brace for historic flooding. CNN's Rosa Flores tells us how bad it's getting.

Krista, what you're hearing in the background are the rising and roaring waters of the San Jacinto River. I'm in Conroe by the west fork of the river, and the water is nearing the edge of an overpass. Mandatory evacuations were issued for several neighborhoods in Montgomery and Harris counties. The water levels of the river are expected to peak at about 78ft above sea level. That's close to Hurricane Harvey levels of 81ft above sea level. And the bad news? Rain is expected today and into the weekend.

And in Hawley, Texas, the local police chief said this morning, around 30 homes were destroyed in the community by the tornado, with numerous injuries reported.

A new study shows that a recent case of bird flu in a Texas farm worker appears to be the first known case of a mammal to human transmission of the virus. The dairy worker sought care in late March after developing painful, swollen eyes, but he had no fever and his lungs were clear, according to a new letter about the case published in the New England Journal of Medicine. In an episode of CNN's podcast Chasing Life, epidemiologist Michael Osterholm told CNN medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta about why this worries him.

From a human perspective, my biggest fear is if this kid were to get established in swine and then we have swine getting infected with human viruses and with a bird virus like this, that's when we get the brand new virus. And that has lots of implications.

'Check out the full episode to hear more about what we know about the bird flu outbreak in US cattle, or read more reporting at CNN Dot-Com.

It's the WNBA preseason and some superstar rookies are hitting the court tonight. That's next.

Ticket sales for the Chicago Sky games are up. Celebs are sporting Indiana Fever jerseys, and Google searches are at an all time high for the WNBA. Tonight, NCAA stars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese make their professional debuts in preseason games tonight with the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky, respectively. It comes on the heels of the Women's College National Championship, which was the most watched basketball game across all pro and college leagues since 2019. As the WNBA tips off its season, the league may have eyes on it like never before.

All right, that's all for now. I'm Chris Tebow, and if you want a lighter, look at the world. Join me tomorrow for the next edition of '5 Good Things,' for some feel good, fun stories. Till next time.