Need to get rid of to bring it down. Nightly news begins right now. From nbc news World Headquarters in new york, this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. Good evening. Its virtually unheard of, a pope admonishing a u. S. President ial candidate, in this case [ bleep ]donald trump over his immigration plan. Pope francis returning home took the reporters question about trumps pledge to build a border wall. In his answer, implied that trump is not a christian. It was a highlevel rebuke to say the least. But true to form, trump is not turning the other cheek. Nbcs katy tur has the details. Mr. Trump, the pope made a statement about you. Reporter donald trump proving there is no thing or one too sacred for his political ire. He actually said im not a good christian or something. Presbyterian lashing out at the church. Talking about the border wall between the u. S. And mexico. A person who only thinks about building walls wherever they may be, and not building bridges is not a christian, he told reporters. Just hours earlier, the pontiff was praying along the mexican side of that very border. Donald trump declared his holiness should hope its him. If and when the vatican is attacked by isis, which as everyone knows is isis ultimate trophy, i can promise you that the pope would have only wished and prayed that donald trump would have been president. Reporter another day, another controversy, but still no clear break in his support. I think he has to respond. The popes coming at him. Donald trump is a good christian, as is the pope. Reporter South Carolina is known for its religious voting block, but only 13 of republican primary voters in 2012 were nationally that number jumps to 25 . Swing voters who supported the last three president s. Its not unusual at owl for pope francis to talk about the dignity of the president. Reporter trump even admonished the holy father for something trump himself did to ted cruz last week, questioning his faith. Leader to question someones faith is disgraceful. Reporter the top trend right now on twitter, this feud between donald trump and the pope. The pope himself does live behind very high walls that surround the vatican. Lester. Katy tur tonight, thank you. Its getting uglier on the campaign trail in South Carolina with cruz and rubio trading accusations of dirty tricks just two days from a critical primary. Nbcs Dave Gutierrez frames the dispute for us. Reporter if a pictures worth a thousand words, today between ted cruz and expensive. Making things up, they literally made up a picture. Reporter rubio claiming the florida senator shook hands with president obama, and supported amnesty for undocumented immigrants. The Cruz Campaign firing back. Its just pointing out rubio shifting stance on immigration. The texas senator also momentum in his battle against donald trump. In the wall street journal, and for the first time in many, many months, according to that poll, theres a new national frontrunner. Reporter rubios getting a jolt from the surprise endorsement of governor nikki haley who had been heavily courted by the bush family. She has an 81 Approval Rating among Republican Voters here. Jeb is a dear friend. This is about fight, this is about passion. Reporter bush tried to convince isnt over. For rubio, saturday could be crucial. Tonight a diverse trio is on the trail. A cubanamerican president ial candidate, an indianamerican governor and africanamerican senator. Are you the new face of the Republican Party . Are we the new faces of the Republican Party . I hope were the faces of the new conservative movement. Reporter an emotional supporter at A John Kasich rally. I really appreciate what youve been talking about. [ cheers and applause ] reporter he got a difficult story about the tough period in his life over the past year. He says he sees hope in john kasichs campaign. Tomorrow will be a South Carolina. Gop candidates planning at least 20 stops throughout the state. Lester . Dave gutierrez tonight, thank you. Democrats are preparing for a critical showdown at las vegas. Where the polls are showing its a dead heat ahead of the nevada caucuses. Clinton has a smaller lead before sanders blowout victory in new hampshire. Andrea mitchell has the details on a tightening contest. Reporter Hillary Clinton today reaching out to casino workers after seeing her support in nevada plummet over the last two weeks. Thank you so much. Reporter both democrats now targeting minorities in the diverse state. Bernie sanders meeting today with the urban league in washington. Competing with clinton to champion their history. The fight for basic voting rights, the demonstrations, the lynchings, the beatings, africanamericans need to achieve what all americans have, the right to vote. Reporter both aggressively courting latinos. Today clinton rolling out a new ad featuring fears her parents will be deported. Let me do the worrying. Ill do all the worrying. Is that a deal . Ill do everything i can to help. Reporter president obama is granting exceptions to undocumented teenagers and young adults. Socalled dreamers. But not their parents. A huge issue here. Sanders supporter is 18. We want to be citizens. We want everything that citizens get in the United States. We just want to feel like were home. Reporter clinton supporter perez came from the philippines when she was 6. We need to tell the gop, we need to tell the democrats, hey, you know what, were out here and what are you going to do . You cant deport all 11 million, 12 million of us. I think what they really fear, andrea, is all kinds of new voters that Bernie Sanders is atacting into the process, connelling out to vote and skewing the results. Reporter dont joe biden who didnt run tells Rachel Maddow i dont regret it. Family, and me. Reporter leading attacks against Bernie Sanders, speaking tonight at the same Democratic Party dinner as sanders. Even as sanders and Hillary Clinton will be answering questions at that msnbc town hall here. Lester . Andrea, thank you. You can see the clinton and sanders town hall tonight at 9 00 eastern only on msnbc. A historic announcement from the white house today. President obama will become the first sitting president to visit cuba in nearly 90 years. A major step as the u. S. And cuba move to normalize relations. The trip which is planned for march 21st and 22nd was immediately met with criticism from republicans, including ted cruz, who said he would never visit as long as castro is in power. There was Something Else pope francis said today, besides his comments on donald trump, that took many by surprise. He suggested Birth Control may be used to prevent the spread of the zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects. Catholic churchs ban on contraceptives, we get more from nbcs Anne Thompson in rome. Reporter returning from mexico, pope francis surprised many by opening the door to the use of artificial contraception to prevent the sexual transmission of zika, the vi rugs rampant in his native latin america, linked to babies born with unusually small heads. Its similar, he said, granted to the nuns in the Belgian Congo when they were routinely raped in the 1960s. Francis continues to shock, as he did in 2013 when he said the church has been historically too obsessed with things like Birth Control, abortion and gay marriage. To say hes simply loosening up Church Teaching is a misreading of what hes doing. This is a pastor, and a pastor responds to situation. Reporter it was revealed in letters this week, francis said a friendship with a woman is not a sin. The pope needs the input of women. He said a man who doesnt have a friendship with a woman is missing something. As with donald trump and immigration, pope francis is proving once again that he is not afraid of taking on controversial topics, trying to resolve issues of faith with realworld problems. Lester. Anne thompson outside the vatican tonight, thanks. Apple is getting some backup from some fellow Tech Companies today tas battles an fbi request to unlock an iphone used by one of the San Bernardino terrorists. As nbcs Pete Williams reports, apples resistance proving reporter the battle is waging during a still active investigation. The fbi searching the homes of two relatives of San Bernardino gunman farouk. The ceo of google is now backing apple. Requiring companies to customer devices and data, he says, could be a troubling precedent. Other tech giants, including microsoft, facebook and twitter added their support. So did apples cofounder, steve wozniak, on cnbc. I think you should feel this is my product and what i have is what i think i have. I dont have companies playing tricks behind me in the background. Reporter but police are pushing back. Prosecutors in new york say they have 175 apple devices they cannot open for evidence, in crimes ranging from Identity Theft to murder. This has become, ladies and gentlemen, the wild west in technology. Apple and google are their over sheriffs. There are no rules. Reporter and mandy, whose fiance was killed in San Bernardino, says this presents a tough choice. I would love to get as many things as possible of shannons murder, and the other 13 people who were killed. But im also an american. I like my privacy. Reporter Business Experts say the battle is about marketing, because protecting apples image. The people need to feel that what theyre buying is theirs, and is truly empowering. Thats what the apple brand is built upon. Reporter apple says tonight the government doesnt have the Legal Authority to make it create new software, and help the fbi open a locked phone. No federal court has ever ruled on that. Pete williams, nbc news, washington. A hostage and ransom story for the digital age. A Medical Center in california forced to pay cyber criminals thousands of dollars to gain back control of its computers. Its a trend called ransomware. Hackers infecting computers with malware, then demanding ransom to give it back. It could happen to you. Reporter it happened at hollywood presbyterian Medical Center. Hackers demanding 17,000 in ransom payable in online bit coins to release the computers. Locked out, the hospitals ceo says in the best interests of operations, we did this. Across the country in maine, hackers even held the Lincoln County sheriffs computers hostage. They asked for, well gladly give you a code to unencrypt it for a fee. Reporter they paid 300 to get their data back. Theyve already encrypted most of the information on your system. Reporter cybersecurity james said ransomware is now big business. Encrypting corporate and government files, family photo, Health Records and financial documents, then demanding payment for the code to unlock them. Becoming a victim is as easy as a bad mouse click on a popup window, email or web link. This would be the data on my computer. I cant access it anymore. Any of the files, whether theyre photos, excel files. A highspeed game thats the Business Model theyre using right now. Reporter Security Pros recommend updating your antivirus software, enabling your popup blockers, and backing up your computer on an external drive. With the hackers often a world away, if you are hacked, you may have no choice but to pay the ransom. Tom costello, nbc news, washington. Staying in california for a moment, an update on a major environmental drama we have been covering, the leak from a ruptured well that has been spewing massive amounts of natural gas into the air near los angeles, has been permanently sealed. State officials said it comes after four months of making people sick and forcing thousands of families from their homes in porter ranch. Southern california gas is facing multiple lawsuits and investigations. Theres a lot more to tell you about here tonight. Lowering your cholesterol. The often overlooked factor that experts say could make all the difference, even when statins, dieting and exercise arent effective enough. Camera, a tour chopper plunging into pearl song thats life song thats life song thats life song thats life thats life. You diet. You exercise. And if you still need help lowering your blood sugar. This is jardiance. Along with diet and exercise, jardiance works around the clock to lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. It works by helping your body to get rid of some of the sugar it doesnt need through urination. This can help you lower blood sugar and a1c. And although its not for weight loss or lowering systolic blood pressure, jardiance could help with both. Jardiance can cause serious side effects including dehydration. This may cause you to feel dizzy, faint or lightheaded, or weak upon standing. Other side effects are urinary tract infections, changes in urination, kidney problems, and increased bad cholesterol. Do not take jardiance if you are on dialysis or have severe kidney problems. Stop taking jardiance and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of an allergic reaction. Symptoms may include rash, swelling, and difficulty breathing or swallowing. Taking jardiance with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take and if you have any medical conditions. So talk to your doctor, and for details, visit jardiance. Com. I take pictures of sunrises, but with my back pain i couldnt sleep and get up in time. Then i found aleve pm. Aleve pm is the only one to combine a safe sleep aid plus the 12 hour pain relieving strength of aleve. Aleve pm for a better am. For the millions of americans battling high cholesterol, doctors usually recommend focusing on diet, and exercise. One of the most significant cholesterol factors is one of the most overlooked. Lowering stress can Reporter College professor christopher edging was going nonstop, classes, meetings and consulting. I was wearing four different hats. And working about 60 to 70 hours a week and really not getting very much sleep at all. Reporter the university of Northern Iowa professor was also giving lectures around the world. In one month alone, to south korea, germany, hong kong and canada. I could just see that he was going a hundred miles an hour with multiple secretaries delegating things. Reporter then a wakeup call, two heart attacks. Even though he changed his diet and took statins, his cholesterol kept rising. Thats when his mayo clinic doctor suggested using an overlooked risk factor, his stress. Very little of us realize how important that is. Reporter experts say stress can release hormones that increase fat cells, which can boost the bad type of cholesterol known as i dont want to discourage people from taking pills. Its also important to look at the other half of the equation, which is diet, exercise and stress. When you come back to the United States reporter when edgington cut back on his work and started spending more time with his grandchildren, a dramatic change. His cholesterol fell by nearly half, from 121 to 62. I tell my students, find one hour every day to take care of yourself. Do something, whether its physical, mental, or whatever. Reporter hes following his doctors advice, ending each day, thinking of three things for which hes grateful. Tonic for a stressfilled life. Janet shamlian, nbc news, houston. Were back in a moment with the perfect conditions creating a rare fiery if youre looking to save money on your Medicare Part d prescriptions, walgreens says, carpe med diem. Seize the day to get more out of life and Medicare Part d. Thatll be the highlight of your day. Now preview the cost of your copay before you fill. You can even get onedollar copays on select plans. Im always there for my daughter. For the little things. And the big milestones. And just like im there for her, pacific life is there to help protect me and my family so i can enjoy all lifes moments. Pacific life. Helping families for over 145 years achieve longterm Financial Security with lifelong retirement income. Talk to a Financial Advisor today to grow your future with confidence. With my moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, the possibility of a flare was almost always on my mind. Thinking about what to avoid, where to go. And how to deal with my uc. Until i talked to my doctor. She told me that humira helps people like me get uc under control and keep it under control when certain medications havent worked well enough. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Raise your expectations. Ask your gastroenterologist about humira. With humira, control is possible. Youve finally earned enough reward miles on your Airline Credit card. Now you just book a seat, right . Not quite. Sometimes those seats are out of reach, costing an outrageous number of miles. Its time to switch. Youll earn unlimited double miles on every purchase, every day. And when youre ready to travel, just book the flight you want, on any airline and use your miles to cover the cost. Now thats more like it. Whats in your wallet . Were back now with a jawdropping moment caught on camera in hawaii. A tour helicopter plunging into the waters near the uss arizona memorial at five people onboard. It was then that almaguer explains onlookers sprang into action. Reporter witnesses could tell something was wrong. The tail of the sightseeing helicopter was smoking as it quickly descended toward the rocky shoreline. Then the moment of impact. With the chopper sinking, several Good Samaritans plunged into the water to rescue the trapped passengers. I saw the helicopter sputterinin about 500 feet. The pilot did an amaze amazing job. Reporter five people were pulled ashore. At least one suffering critical injuries. All rushed to hospitals by ambulance. The navy says the helicopter is owned by genesis aviation. The same chopper seen here before the crash. Offering aerial tours of the arizona memorial since 1999. Tonight the investigation into what went wrong is under way. Witnesses say its a miracle everyone miguel almaguer, nbc news. Now to a rare and amazing sight in Yosemite National park. Whats known as a firefall for a few weeks in february each year, the setting sun hits this waterfall just right to make it appear to be on fire. It brings photographers flocking to the park to capture the beautiful images like this one. When we come back here tonight, the digital age nearly made them extinct, but in woman its been a journey to get where i am. And i didnt get here alone. There were people who listened along the way. People who gave me options. Kept me on track. And through it all, my retirement never got left behind. So today, im prepared for anything we may want tomorrow to be. Every someday needs a plan. Ive been claritin clear for 14 days. When your allergy symptoms start. Doctors recommend taking one claritin every day of your allergy season. For continuous relief. With powerful, 24 hour. Nondrowsy claritin, live claritin clear. Every day. You owned your car for four years, you named it brad. You loved brad. And then you totaled him. You two had been through everything together. Two boyfriends, three jobs. Youre like nothing can replace brad. Then Liberty Mutual calls, and you break into your happy dance. If you sign up for better car replacement , well pay for a car thats a model year newer with 15,000 fewer miles than your old one. See Car Insurance in a whole new light. Liberty mutual insurance. What if one situp could prevent Heart Disease . One. Wishful thinking, right . But there is one step you can take to help prevent another serious disease. Pneumococcal pneumonia. If you are 50 or older, one dose of the prevnar 13 vaccine can help protect you from pneumococcal pneumonia, an illness that can cause coughing, chest pain, difficulty breathing, and may even put you in the hospital. Even if you have already been vaccinated with another pneumonia vaccine, prevnar 13 may help provide additional protection. Prevnar 13 is used in adults 50 and older to help prevent infections from 13 strains of the bacteria that cause pneumococcal pneumonia. You should not receive prevnar 13 if you have had a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine or its ingredients. If you have a weakened immune system, you may have a lower response to the vaccine. Common side effects were pain, redness or swelling at the injection site, limited arm movement, fatigue, headache, muscle or joint pain, less appetite, chills, or rash. Get this one done. Ask your doctor or pharmacist finally tonight, remember the days when we had photo albums on our shelves . Not just on our phones . The digital era has largely sent photo prints the way of the well explain that another time. But as joe fryer said theyre making a comeback, even in this age of instant gratification. Reporter for a while it seemed our photos were not hanging on real walls, but facebook walls. Business is bringing those images back to life. I thought it might be a way to get pictures off of my reporter instant photography is having a renaissance. The refurbished polaroids and other instant cameras, but they can actually print their pics. What if we could create this experienceial photo. Reporter step one, take a picture. From there, just send it to one of the companys computers. There it is. Reporter and within minutes, youve got a picture on paper. Of course, instant photography is nothing new. For decades, polaroids were a pop culture phenomenon. But as the focus shifted to digital cameras, the company had to declare bankruptcy, twice. This is the polaroid snap. Reporter today polaroid is back with new products and new customers. Millennials. To them, instant photography is magical, something they did not grow up with. Reallife photos are trending. Weve had kids, millennials come into the store and for the First Time Ever in their lives hold a physical photo in their hands. Its incredible. Reporter proof an image doesnt have to go viral to be memorable. Joe fryer, nbc news, las vegas. Thats going to do it for us on a thursday ni on air, online, wherever you are, this is wncn news at 7 00. The trial of a mother beaten to death in her North Raleigh apartment. Good evening im sharon taswell. Speak for the last several weeks jurors have heard testimony surrounding the night of the murder. Now theyre getting background into the life of a killer. Steve joins us now with more. Sharon, the defense right now is trying to build a case that it hopes will save the life of smith. Of Witnesses Today which they hope would present mitigating circumstances. Among the first to testify was travions half sister. She talked about what she said was the constant mental abuse that her dad gave travion and talked about the physical beatings he endured as a youngster and then they brought in a series of teachers and psychologists all of whom added a different perspective to the young mans profile. He was a great kid. He did well in the program. He came in, he was one of the most impulsive children ive worked with. But he loved the structure. He cared about other kids. Travion was hospitalized, lets see, three times during his Elementary School years. He was hospitalized again in february of 20 owe 5 during his sixth grade year. He was one of my favorite people. Hes one of your favorites