This is nbc nightly news. Reporting tonight from baltimore, lester holt. A special fwenk to our viewers in the west. A tense and fragile baltimore as we come to you standing across from some of the stillsmoldering rubble from a fire that may be related to the violence yesterday. Its still under investigation. But right now our eyes are once again locked several blocks away in west baltimore. Crowds have been growing in the street throughout the afternoon against the backdrop of a large police and National Guard presence. As you can imagine, after last night, tensions are very high. Our team is fanned out across this city. We want to go right to nbcs Peter Alexander to begin our coverage. Peter . Reporter lester, good evening to you. As night falls, a different feeling, just a few short hours dancing in the streets and people were hearing the music of a marching band and also chatting with police who have been arriving here over the course of the day now in baltimore in force. Tonight baltimore is a city under lockdown. State and local police teamed up with 100,000 members members of the National Guard trying to keep an easy calm, trying to avoid a repeat of last nights rioting. I think this can be our defining moment and not the darkest days that we saw yesterday. Reporter the explosion of violence followed the fine raffle 25yearold freddie gray who died while in police custody. Young people, many of them teens, gathered on baltimores west side before throwing rocks and bottles at police and looting a cvs pharmacy and setting it ablaze. Angry mobs moved store to stove seizing property and looting and attack officers. Later this nearly completed Senior Center turned into an inferno. Stop the violence, please. Reporter the levy family helplessly watched their stores surveillance cameras from home as looters gutted the store they owned for 5 years. Coming in and cleaning us out totally. Reporter this mess is all thats left. They want to rebuild but where do you begin . Its just sad. My heart is breaking. My heart is breaking for baltimore and for all the store owners, and its breaking for us. Reporter this mother of three had worked here for five years and shes now out of a job. I walk in and to see this tore apart. It just like ripped me to shreds. Reporter this morning with city schools closed leaving 85,000 kids without class, some took to the streets to help clean up. I didnt want all of this to look a mess, and i want this to look like it never burnt down and i want them to rebuild this place just the way it was. Reporter others returned to last nights hot spots where they faced off with police once again. No injuries reported, but limited arrests. The curfew here begins at 10 00 p. M. And tomorrow the Baltimore Orioles return to the need at nearby camden yards after postponing yesterday and todays game but in a game thats closed to the public. Means no fans in the stands and Major League Baseball says thats never happened before. All right, Peter Alexander, thanks very much. In peters story we saw that rather large fire that burned through the night. It was here. This was a Senior Community center being built by a church. It was under construction. It went up and as youre watching coverage last night you saw it burning. Atf investigators were here. Still not clear if it was linked to the riots, but they are taking a look. Now, Community Leaders looking at damage today wondering where did all this come from . What started this . What turned the tide in this city . Was it all about freddie gray or something more in the consensus of those i spoke to today is that it is something more, that this traces its roots back decades. His cell phone camera rolling as unruly crowd surges towards a Check Cashing store and then begins ransacking the place. Andre jolly witnessed what he and many others who live in this neighborhood have seen coming for decades. It didnt make sense, but at the same time freddie gray didnt make sense, and until somebody makes sense of the real problem, and thats the safety of the youth, they are going to act out, our youth will act out. Reporter and little can explain yesterdays violence but there is plenty that may inform it. Its a neighborhood where more than 50 of residents are not employed, a third of its residential housy empty or abandoned, where in one fouryear period a quarter of kids ages 10 to 17 had been arrested a place where residents are twice as likely to die from homicide than other baltimore residents, and now adding to the misery of those growing up here this. Are you afraid for whats going to happen here . Yes. Reporter what are you most afraid of . Im most afraid of everything the kids might break through and we might not have like a community to live in because they are messing it up. Reporter quasi mfume, former congressman and knapp knapp president , is from baltimore. People look at what happened here tonight and they say what on earth does it have to do with freddie gray . Nothing. Violence, looting, burning has absolutely nothing to do with the cry for justice, the investigation or to find out what caused his death. Reporter but something tapped this, something is simmering here . For 40 or 50 year, real since 1968. Reporter africanamerican men are vanishing from daily life in places like west baltimore because of premature deaths and soaring incarceration rates. Andre jolly is himself a convicted felon and recovering substance abuser. I have an 8yearold son and i have a 7yearold son, and what im trying to do right now is be in their lives, be a father, and i think thats a big part of the problem. A lot of the fathers here are even incarcerated or dead. Reporter but west baltimore has not given up. Father and exmarine Brandon Gibson brought his children out today to join others in cleaning up debris in the neighborhood his family came from. We can cry and we can have sorrow about all the bad things that are happening and all the things that are going wrong such as the tensions World Trade Center police and the things in the neighborhood, but, you know, at the end of the day, youre going to have to take action and youre going have to do something positive to make that positive change. A lot of older people here old enough to remember the riots of 68 have been trying to reach out to young people throughout the day reminding them that violence in their own neighborhood only continues to set them back. President obama today during a News Conference with japaneses Prime Minister made his first Public Comments about the violence in baltimore declaring that there is no excuse for the rioting after he was questioned by our senior White House Correspondent chris jansing. Are we in the throes of a National Crisis . What are you prepared to do about it both in terms of baltimore and the larger picture, and what do you say to critics who say that since the death of Trayvon Martin you have not been aggressive enough in your response . When individuals get crowbars and start prying open doors to loot, they are not protesting. They are not making a statement, they are stealing. What i would say is theres been a slowrolling crisis. This has been going on for a long time. This is not new. I think there are Police Departments that have to do some soul searching. I thinks some communities that have to do some soul searching, but i think we as a country have to do some soul searching and that we dont just Pay Attention to these communities when a cvs burns and we dont just Pay Attention when a young man gets shot or has his spine snapped. The president s first comments today about the violence in baltimore. He spent more than 14 minutes answering chris question. Our nbc news political director and moderator of meet the press chuck todd is with us tonight. The president talked about soul searching. Do our leaders, will our leaders have to do some soul searching in the wake what have weve seen here . Maybe. You know, its been interesting with the president. Hes always kept a physical distance from the cities that have had the racial tensions, not rhetorical tensions. Never did walk the streets of ferguson never went down to sanford, florida or north charleston. You wonder if theres a decision to use the bully pulpit of his presidency to walk the streets here in baltimore and bring the attention that he says need to be here now. What about local leadership . Locally you have the mayor. This is a tough crisis, got off on the wrong phrase when she used the phrase give the space to destroy over the weekend. Shes tried to walk that back but you can be defined as a mayor, you know this from your time in chicago, you can sometimes be defined by one event, one phrase that makes it almost impossible for you to do the job of doing what you need to do here which is get this Community Back together and get working together. I think shes on her heels a little bit. Shes got a real challenge ahead. All right, chuck todd, thank you very much . You got it. Amid all the images weve seen of crowds run amuck here in baltimore, there is one moment for many watching this unfold. It was when a young man encountered an Authority Figure that doesnt lay a badge but can really lay down the law. Our rehema ellis has that part of the story. Reporter police say this is one mothers furry unlishd on her son. Spotted in the middle of a protest, she forces him back tries to rip off his mask while screaming at him. Get over here now reporter baltimores police chief commended her. If you saw on one scene, you had one mother who grabbed their child who had a hood on his head and started smacking him on the head because she was embarrassed. I wish i had more parents that took charge of the kids out there tonight Reporter Video has gone viral, and on the streets of baltimore today many are calling her a hero. Do you think she was right or was she wrong . I think she was right. Reporter if your son were old enough to be out in the street rioting and you saw him, what would you do . The same thing that mother did. Go find my son and take him home because his life could have been saved. My mother probably would have did the same thing. Wow. Reporter others disagree . I mean, you know, they said go and get the children, but, i mean, they didnt say go and cuss them out and beat them up. Reporter tonight in a community torn apart, neighbors hold on to each other, praying for answers and a peaceful night. Rehema ellis nbc news baltimore. We want to turn now to another major story were following tonight, the desperate search for survivors and the devastating earthquake in nepal which has now claimed more than 5,000 lives. Every minute that passes diminishes the chance of finding people alive in the rubble, but rescuers are not ready to give up, not yet. Nbcs Miguel Almaguer has the story from nepal. Reporter a new look at the devastating quake. These pictures taken saturday in tibet. But neighboring nepal remained hardest hit. Finding survivors here has become a race against time. Late tonight this 28yearold pulled alive from the rubble more than 80 hours after the quake. But the desperate search doesnt always have a happy ending. Scenes like this have been happening all day long. Another body recovered from the rubble now rushed to the hospital. Moments later, volunteers are back at work. Why are you here . To help. Reporter 62yearold canadian ross trent has been digging 12 hours a day since the quake struck. I was visiting a monastery and here i am. In one crazy way im probably in a better place now doing something. Reporter just across the street people looking for missing relatives watch and wait. In some areas of kathmandu theyve given up hope. Beneath this rubble a few days ago they could hear cries for help, even tapping, but now theyve gone. For survivors today more hardship. Rain and wind hammered tent cities. Disease could easily spread here. But hospitals are out of room. No empty beds, only the promise of more patients to come. In remote villages, helicopters search and find more destruction. On mt. Everest, climbers trapped by the avalanche have been airlifted out. The climbing season is over. This rescue team from virginia arriving in kathmandu today to join the search for survivors. This is why theyve come. A come rescued pinned underneath concrete for two days. Theres still hope here, but less of it with each passing day. Miguel almaguer, nbc news, kathmandu, nepal. We know many of you want to know how to help the victims in nepal and where you can donate. Weve put all that information on our website. A lot more of the days news still ahead, including a big announcement from the nfl. Also samesex marriage returns to the supreme court. Its a cliffhanger case that could make it legal in all 50 states. Tonight what were learning about how the justices might rule. Tonight the arguments are over in the case that could bring samesex marriage to all 50 states is now in the hands of the nine justices on the u. S. Supreme court. Our justice correspondent Pete Williams was in the courtroom today. Pete, set the scene reporter lester, good evening. The court is on the verge of a watershed ruling, but it isnt obvious how it will rule. There were signs today that the justices who has written the courts three progay rules in the past may be about to do it again. Outside the court boisterous crowds on both sides of the issue, one thats deeply personal to people like thomas kostura. He decided to get married four years ago in new york to Army Sergeant ijpe dekoe. About to deploy to afghanistan. When the army ordered them to move, tennessee refused to consider them married. Being in the military, you cant really say i dont want to go there. When two people love each other, they make commitments to each other, and those commitments should be respected and should travel from state to state. Reporter 36 states now permit gay couples to marry, but states that impose bans say it should be up to the people, not the courts. And the supreme courts conservatives seemed to agree. The issue, of course, is not whether there should be samesex marriage but who should decide the point. People feel very differently about something if they have a chance to vote on it than if its imposed on them by the courts. Reporter and states that ban gay marriage say keeping the traditional definition encourages oppositesex couples to get married and have children, but the courts liberals didnt think much of that. Youre not taking away anything from heterosexual couples. They would have the very same incentive to marry, all the benefits that come with marriage that they do now. Its hard to see how permitting samesex marriage discourages people from being bonded with their biological children. Reporter the court seemed split 44 with Justice Anthony kennedy likely the deciding vote. Though he said the traditional definition has been around for millennia, he also said allowing gay couples to marry gives them respect. Samesex couples say, of course, we understand the nobility and the sacredness of the marriage. We know we cant procreate, but we want the other attributes of it in order to show that we, too, have a dignity that can be fulfilled. Reporter the argument was briefly interrupted by the shouts of an opponent of samesex marriage as court Police Rushed in to hustle him out. Justice kennedy came back to that dignity point a couple of times, suggesting theres a bare 54 majority in favor of samesex marriage. But we wont know until the courts decision comes out in late june. Lester . Pete williams tonight, thanks. Were back in a movement with a terrifying incident that forced a plane to attempt an Emergency Landing late today. Scary moments late today on the runway in philadelphia where a United Airlines turboprop plane with 75 people on board made an Emergency Landing because of a fire in one of the engines. The plane was immediately doused in foam. The passengers rushed out on to the grass next to the runway. One passenger was taken to the hospital with chest pains. Today marked the first day of testimony in the colorado Movie Theater massacre. The first witnesses were survivors of the 2012 shooting, including a woman who was nine months pregnant at the time and her husband who suffered a severe brain injury and is now in a wheelchair. 12 people were killed that night, 70 others injured. Attorneys for the defendant, james holmes, claim he is not guilty by reason of insanity. In a major shift, the nfl has announced its League Office will start paying taxes. To be clear, the nfls 32 teams already pay taxes, but the Central Office has been exempt since 1942. Commissioner Roger Goodell says that has created a distraction which the league is now doing away with, but this move also means that the nfl no longer has to disclose how much money goodell and other top executives make. And final preps are under way for perhaps the most thrilling thing youll see all year when Daredevil Nik Wallenda attempts to walk along the rim of the 400foottall orlando eye ferris wheel while it spins. He wont have a balancing pole, a safety line or net below to catch him. You can catch it live tomorrow on today. Were back in a moment with more on our top stories. Some final thoughts from here in baltimore. Reporter night has fallen here in baltimore and we continue to watch the west side of the city where crowds remain in the street. Before we sign off, two final thoughts. Two people stopped me on the street and pointedly asked me where was everybody before all this happened . Coming here now, and asking all our questions about police and poverty and life here. It isnt lost on anyone here that places like west baltimore are sometimes invisible and not heard. The places people drive through but dont always see. Theres a lot to try and understand here and much to learn, but the concern i also heard express is that this community cant be seen or heard through the fog and the din of violence. Well have updates throughout the night on nbcnews. Com and on your late local news and complete coverage tomorrow morning on today. Im lester holt reporting from baltimore. For all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. Were in a drought. Its an emergency. And we have to act expeditiously. Get ready to pay up. Governor brown meeting with californias big city mayors in sacramento today. The goal imposing fines if you dont conserve enough water. Good evening. Thanks for being with us. Im raj mathai. Im jessica aguirre. A bold proposal from Governor Brown tonight. A 10,000 fine for californians identified as water wasters. The fines are one of the tactics he plans to use to get us through these dry years. Robert honda was at the State Capitol today hes back in the bay area now. Im almost afraid to ask what the details are. Reporter well, were here at the santa clara Water District where a Board Meeting focused on the drought is just about to start. The Water District likes the governors aggressive stance a lot and also encouraged that the mayor of san jose was at the capitol fighting for one of the districts biggest projects, one that is going to be discussed here tonight. Today at the State Capitol, Governor Brown said he wants to go after water wasters. He plans to support legislation that would give water agencies more enforcement power to levy fines, penalties up to 10,000. Santa clara water Valley DistrictOfficials Say they have already proposed that idea to the state water resource board. Since the district inspect sers can only educate and inform right now. Welare going to be expanding our water waste Inspector Program increasing the number of inspectors so if