this is "nbc nightly ne repo tonight fro. good evening from a tense and fragile baltimore as we come to you standing some of the still-smoldering from a fire that may be related to the violence yest it's still under investigation. right now our eyes are once again locked several blocks away in west baltimore. crowds have been growing in the street throughout the afternn again the backdrop of a large police and national guard presence. as you can imagine, after last night, tensions are high. our team is fanned out across this city. let's get right to nbc's peter alexander to begin our coverage. peter? >> lester go to you. tonight two atf teams are en route here to baltimore to help investigate more than 140 cars set on fire 15 buildings burned and the news announced by the police commissioner that at least one rioter fired shots at officers last night. all this as the city's mayor vows to re tonight baltimore is a city under lockdown. state and local police teamed up with 1,000 members of the national guard trying . hoping to avoid a repeat of last night's rioting. i t this can be our defining moment and not the darkest days that we saw yesterday. the explosion of violence the funeral for 25-year-old freddie gray who died while in police custody. yo people many of them teens, gathered on baltimore's west side before throwing rocks and bottles at police then looting a cvs pharmacy and setting it ablaze. angry mobs moved from store to store stealing property destroying police cars d attacking officers. into e night, the chaos intensified. this newly completed senior center turned into an inferno. today emotions are still raw. >> stop the violence please! >> for more than eight hours overnight the levy family helplessly watched their store's surveillance cameras from home as looters sports mart they've owneded for 35 years. the coming in and cleaning us out. >> reporte this mass is all that's left. they want to rebuild but where do you begin? >> it's just sad. my heart is breaking. my heart is breaking for baltimore, it's breaking for all the store owners and it's breaking for us. >> reporter: mother of three, tracy joyce, had worked here for the last five years. she's now out of a job. and i walk in and see this store tore apart it just like ripped me to shreds. sad. this g with city schools closed leaving 85,000 kids without class, some took to the streets to help clean up. >> i didn't want this all to look a mess. i want this to look like it never burnt down and i want them to reb it ca look the way it was. others returned to last night's hot spots where they faced off with police once again. no injuries reported but limited arrests. the curfew begins here tonight at 10:00 p.m. and tomorrow the baltimore orioles will return to the field at nearby camden yards after postponing their games yesterday and today, but they will do it in a game that's closed to the public. that means no fans in the stands. even major league baseball lester says that's never happened before. >> all right, peter alexander, thanks. yo on the west side. on the east side of baltimore at the scene of this fire last night. if you were watching any of the coverage you saw it going up in flames lighting the skyline. it's a church senior community center that was under construction. questions as to whether it was related to the riots that occurred at about that time. so it's still under investigation. atf was here just a short time ago. the question of course how did then things get to this point? was this all about freddie gray or somethg else? the consensus of people i spoke to in this city today say there was a lot more to it. that what happened is rooted decades ago. his cell phone camera rolling as the unruly crowd surges toward a check cashing store and then begins ransacking the place, andre jolly witnessed what he and many others who live in this neighborhood have se coming for decades. >> it didn't make sens t at the same time freddie gray didn't make sense. and until somebody mixed the real problem and that's the safety of the youth, they're going to act out how youth act out. >> reporter: and little can explain yesterday's violence. but there is plenty that may inform it. it's a neighborhood where more than 50% of residents are not employed. a third of its residential housing y or abandoned. where in one four-year 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 af for what going to happen here? >> yes. what are yo mt afraid of? >> i'm most afraid of everything -- that the kids and we might not have a community to live in. >> reporter: kweisi mfume, former congressman and naacp president, is from baltimore. look at what here last nigh and they say, what on earth does it have to do with freddie gray? >> nothing. violence burning, looting has absolutely nothing to do with the cry for justice, the investigation or to find out what caused this death. >> reporte b g tapped this something simmering heres been simmering for 40 50 year since 1968. african-amer men 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 8-year-old son and i have a 7-year-old son. and what i'm trying to do right now is be in their lives, be a father. and i t that's a g part of the problem. lot of the fathers here are either incarcerated or dead. >> reporter: but west baltimore has not given up. father and ex-marine 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 with e police and the things in the neighborhood but you at the end of the day, you're going to have to take action and you're going to have to do something positi to make that positive change. >> speaking to older people who were here during the riots of the '60s, they say they're appealing to young trying to remind them that all this violence only takes away from their communities. president obama t a news conference with japan's prime minister 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 t chris jansing. >> are we in the throes of a national crisis? what a 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're not protesting. e n making a statement. th stealing. what i'd say is this has been a slow-rolling crisis this has been going on for a long time. this is not new. i think there are police departments hav to do some soul searching. i think there's 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 don't just pay attention to these communities when a cvs burns and we don't just pay attention when a young man gets shot or has his spine snapped. >> the president's fit comments today t the violence in baltimore. he spent more than 14 minutes answering chris' question on topic. our nbc news political director and moderator of "meet the press," chuck todd is here with us tonight. let's talk about leadership. we've certainly seen vargss of this story play out over the last year or so questions of police conduct. where does the leadership move from here? it will be interesting toe p does something he's never before. he never walked the streets of ferguson didn't go to sanford, florida, didn't go to charleston. is baltimore different? he come and walk the street wurng gro tha we sm and the smoldering. symbolic bully pulpit. critic ekes he hasn't done it enough. stephanie rawlings-blake she these comments about space to dest k it's put her sort of on her heels a little bit and it's not clear whether she's going to have the ability to bring this city together. she's got a real challenge. someo who has a frequent guest on your program. she has been and she's been a national spokesperson talking t the police and talking abo body cameras. w thi is now in her backyard. it's a real challenge for her. >> chuck todd good to have you with us. amid all the images of crowds run amok here in baltimore there's one moment that's d out for many watc this unfold when a young man encountered an authority figure who doesn't carry a badge but can really lay down the law. rehema ellis has that part of the story. >> reporter: police y this is one mother's fury unleashed on her son. spotted in the middle of a protest, she forces him tryies to rip uf his mask while screaming at him. get over here now! >> reporter: baltimore's police f comme her. >> if you saw in one scene you had one mother who grab their child who had a hood on his head and started smacking him on the head because she was so embarrassed. wis i had more parents that took of their kids out there tonight. ts gone viral. on the streets of baltimore today many e calling her a hero. do you think she was rit or was she wrong? i think she was right. if your son were old enough to be out in the street rioting and you d do? the same thing that mother did find my son and take him home. because his n saved. >> my mother probably would have did the same thing. >> reporter: but others disagree. >> wow, i mean you know they said go and get their children but i mean they didn't say go and cuss them out and beat them up. >> r 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 we're following tonight, the desperate search for survivors of the devastating earthquake in nepal, which has now claimed more than 5,000 lives. every minute that passes dims the chances of finding people alive in the rubble. t rescuers are not ready to give up not yet. nbc's miguel almaguer has the story from nepal. >> reporte new at the devastating quake. these pictures taken saturdn but neighboring nepal remained hardest hit. finding survivors here has become a race against time. late tonight this 28-year-old pulled alive from the rubble more than 80 hours after the quake. but the desperate search doesn't 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: 62-year-old canadian ross trent has been digging 12 hours a day since the quake struck. but here i am. in one crazy way i'm probably in a better place now doing something. just across the street missing relatives watch and wait. in some areas of kathmandu they've given up hope. beneath this rubble a few days ago they could for help even tapping, but now they've 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 climbi this rescue team from virginia arriving in kathmandu today to join the search for survivthis is why they've come. a ce rescued pinned underneath concrete for two days. there's still hope here but less of it miguel almaguer nbc news kathmandu, nepal. we know many of u want to know how to help the victims in nepal and where you can donate. we've put all that information on our website. a lot more of the day's news still ahead including a big announcement from the nfl. also same-sex marriage returns to the supreme court. it's a cliff-hanger case that could make it legal in all 50 states. tot wt we're learning about how the congratulations. you're down with crestor. yes! when diet and exercise aren't enough, adding crestor lowers bad cholesterol up to 55%. crestor is not for people with liver disease or women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant. tell your doctor all medicines you take. call your doctor if you have muscle pain or weakness, feel unusually tired have loss of appetite, upper belly pain, dark urine or yellowing of skin or eyes. these could be signs of serious side effects. i'm down with crestor! make your move. ask your doctor about crestor. constipated? .yea dulcolax tablets can cause cramps but not phillips. it has magnesium and works more naturally than stimulant laxatives. for gentle cramp free relief of occasional constipation that works! mmm mmm live the regular life. fact. advil is not only strong it's gentle on your body too. no wonder doctors and patients have trusted advil... for their tough pains for over 30 years. relief doesn't get any better than this. advil. incredible! i've been claritin clear for ten days. when your allergy symptoms start, doctors recommend taking one claritin every day of your allergy season for continuous relief. with powerful 24-hour, non-drowsy claritin live claritin clear. every day. tonight the arguments are over in e case that could bring same-sex marriage to all 50 states is now in the hands of the nine justices on the u.s. supreme court. our justice co pete will w in the courtroom today. pete set the scene for us. >> r lester good evening. is on the verge of a watershed ruling, but it isn't obvious how it will rule. ev so the justice who has written the court's three pro-gay rulings in the past may be about to do it again. outside the court boisterous crowds on both sides of the issue, one that's deeply personal to people like kostura decided to get ma ago in new york to army sergeant ijpe dekoe. when the army ordered them to move tennessee refused to consider them married. >> being in the military you can't really say i don't 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. 36 states now permit couples to marry but those who oppose it say it should be up to the people. cou seemed to agree. the issue, have been is not whether there should be same-sex marriage but who should decide the point. >> people feel very differently about g if they have a chance to vote on it than if it's imposed on them by the courts. >> reporter: and states that ban gay marriage say keeping the traditional definition encourages opposite-sex couples to get married and have children but the court's liberals didn't think much of that. you're not taking away anything from heterosexual couples. they would have the very same incentive to marry, all the benefits thae that do now. >> it's hard to see how permitting same-sex marriage discourages peop being bonded with their biological children. >> rep the court seemed split 4-4 with justice anthony kennedy likely the deciding vote. thou he said the traditional definition has been around for millennia, he also said allowing gay couples to marry gives them respect. same-sec couples say, of course we understand the and the sacredf the marriage. know we can't procreate, but we want the other attributes of it in order to show that we too, have a dignity that can be fulfilled. >> r the argume was briefly interrupted by the shouts of an opponent of same-sex marriage as court police rushed in to hustle him out. justice kennedy came back to that dignity point a couple of times suggesting there's a bare 5-4 majority in fave over same-sex marriage no sign of a sixth vote with the chief justice joining, that was something many people we wondering about. but of course we won't know the answer to any of this until th decision comes out in late june. lester? pete thank very much. wee back in a moment a terrifying incident that thank you for being a sailor, and my daddy. thank you mom, for protecting my future. thank you for being my hero and my dad. military families are thankful for many things. the legacy of usaa auto insurance could be one of them. our world-class service earned usaa the top spot in a study of the most recommended large companies in america. if you're current or former military or their family, see if you're eligible to get an auto insurance quote. ...and the wolf was huffing and puffing... kind of like you sometimes, grandpa. well, when you have copd it can be hard to breathe. it can be hard to get air out, which can make it hard to get air in. so i talked to my doctor. she said.. doctor: symbicort could help you breathe better, starting within 5 minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. symbicort helps provide significant improvement of your lung function. symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort contains formoterol. medicines like formoterol increase the risk of death from asthma problems. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections osteoporosis, and some eye problems. you should tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. grandfather: symbicort could mean a day with better breathing. watch out, piggies! child giggles doctor: symbicort. breathe better starting within 5 minutes. call or go online to learn more about a free prescription offer. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. are you still getting heartburn flare-ups? time for a new routine. try nexium® 24hr. the latest choice for frequent heartburn. get complete protection. nexium level protection. your allergies bring more than sneezing... ...and itchy eyes. they also bring tough nasal congestion. so you need claritin-d. it starts to work... ...in just 30 minutes. in fact, nothing works faster. so blow away nasal congestion, fast, with claritin-d. scary moments late today on the runway in philadelphia where a united airlinep pla 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 gra 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 d her husband who suffered a severe brn injury and is now confined to a wheelchair. 12 people we killed that night, 70 people 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 nfl's 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 you'll see all year when daredevil nik wallenda attempts to walk along e rim of the 400-foot-tall orlando eye ferris wheel while it spins. he won't h line or net w him. you can catch it tomorrow on "today." we're back in a moment with more on our top stories. in nobody told us to expect it... intercourse that's painful due to menopausal changes it's not likely to go away on its own. so let's do something about it. premarin vaginal cream can help it provides estrogens to help rebuild vaginal tissue and make intercourse more comfortable. premarin vaginal cream treats vaginal changes due to menopause and moderate-to-severe painful intercourse caused by these changes. don't use it if you've had unusual bleeding breast or uterine cancer blood clots, liver problems, stroke or heart attack, are allergic to any of its ingredients or think you're pregnant. side effects may include headache pelvic pain, breast pain vaginal bleeding and vaginitis. estrogens may increase your chances of getting cancer of the uterus, strokes, blood clots or dementia so use it for the shortest time based on goals and risks. estrogen should not be used to prevent heart disease heart attack, stroke or dementia. ask your doctor about premarin vaginal cream. bring us your aching... and sleep deprived. bring us those who want to feel well rested and ready to enjoy the morning ahead. aleve pm. the first to combine a sleep aid... plus the 12 hour pain relieving strength of aleve. for pain relief that can last until the am. so you... you... and you, can be a morning person again. aleve pm, for a better am. why are all these people so asleep yet i'm so awake? did you know your brain has two systems? one helps keep you awake- the other helps you sleep. science suggests when you have insomnia, the wake system in your brain may be too strong and your neurotransmitters remain too active as you try to sleep, which could be leading to your insomnia. ohh...maybe that's what's preventing me from getting the sleep i need! talk to your doctor about ways to manage your insomnia. ♪ in the wake of last night's violence we continue to keep a close eye on the crowds in west baltimore right now. and before we sign off from here a few final thoughts. o pe stopped me on the street d t pointedly asked me where was everybody be all this happen here now and asking questions about police and poverty and life. it isn't lost on anyone here that places like this are sometimes invisible or not heard. the places that people drive through but don't always see. there's a lot to try and understand here and much to learn, but the concern i also heard expressed is that this community can't be seen or heard through the fog and din of violence. we'll the night on nbc news.com and on your late local news and complete coverage morning on "today." i'm lester holt, reporting from baltimore. fo a of us at nbc news, thank yo lights camera access. >> for all purposes i am a woman. >> is seeing believing? the new image appearing to be bruce in a dress posted and then removed.