day of rage. burning fury in the streets of egypt. brutal battles with police. the u.s. says the regime must respond. all eyes now on egyptian president mubarak tonight. the world is watching this tense, violent and fluid situation. the question is, how does it end? "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. something enormously important is happening half a world away from us tonight.

the nation of egypt is probably changing forever, and it may not stop there. what appears to be a revolution is under way, led by protesters in the streets against the almost 30-year rule of president hosni mubarak. late tonight local time he went on television, gave a speech talking about freedom and democracy. he said he's going to replace his own government tomorrow. we later learn when president obama made his own statement tonight that the two had spoken for 30 minutes late in the day. egypt has shut down the internet, which helped fuel this after all in a nation where over half the population is age 30 and under. importantly this is not a middle east protest against the u.s. or britain or israel, this is egyptians protesting their own government. here's where we're talking about, three major protests going on in three big egyptian cities. suez, alexandria and of course in cairo. that's where our chief foreign correspondent, richard engle, is

standing by tonight. richard, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. the egyptian army has deployed in much of downtown cairo and president mubarak has broken his silence and promised some reform, but will that be enough to stop these demonstrations. egypt is now in a state of revolt. waves of thousands of protesters rushed riot police, who drove them back with water cannons and, more often, tear gas.%e5 although the protesters have no single leader, the demonstrations were coordinated to begin at mosques. the clashes started almost immediately after friday prayers. the protesters now calling themselves revolutionaries, launched bottles, stones and molotov cocktails. they tore up the streets to throw blocks of pavement at riot police. several hours into these protests, there is now nothing less than chaos in the center of cairo.

this city has not seen anything like this in decades, if ever. downtown cairo, smoldered with anger and the debris of torched police vehicles. the crowds are continuing to grow with every hour here. they are now chanting one simple slogan "god is greater" and they hope to continue this protest until they topple hosni mubarak. >> i want another president for egypt. >> tonight president mubarak went on national television and defended the crackdown, but also offered concessions, firing his cabinet and promising more reform. we will have new steps toward more democracy, he said. more freedom for citizens. new steps to reduce unemployment, to elevate the standard of living and improve services. it's unclear how many demonstrators and police have been injured or killed so far. we saw many succumb to tear gas. the protesters have now reached the main square here in downtown

cairo. people are being injured. we've seen several collapsing so far today, like this man. as the day progressed, the protests began to change. a movement that started with students, human rights activists and the unemployed, turned increasingly violent. shouts against president mubarak merged with cries of god is greater. they have now stopped for a moment of prayer and also an act of defiance, challenging the police to stop them. the muslim brotherhood, a group long banned here, joined the protest. egypt has said it's cracking down to maintain order and to prevent the country from falling to islamic radicals. as evening fell, police vehicles were attacked on bridges and set on fire. mubarak imposed a curfew, and for the first time called in the

army. but when army armored vehicles rolled into cairo, they seemed to take no action against the demonstrators. in fact, crowds surrounded the military vehicles, climbed on top of them, cheered the soldiers, and called on them to join the movement. president mubarak has reshuffled his cabinet several times in the past. protesters we spoke to tonight say this time, it's not enough. >> so, richard, the question is what is this exactly? it is citizens and not like the black face mask people. i did see some people brought their children to see the protests today. families watching on balconies. at the same time, as you reported, there is a religious aspect to it, so it's probably hard to guess end game. what kind of society government they would want if successful. >> reporter: it's very hard to know because this is not a centrally organized protest.

it began with the unemployed, students, people who have had enough of the corrupt system that has been in place in egypt for a long time. but then as the protests started to gain momentum, islamic movements, the muslim brotherhood, which is by far the biggest underground organization in egypt, started to become involved and many people in this country are worried that if this protest continues and seriously topples the regime, the muslim brotherhood will try to make a run for power. brian. >> richard engle. richard, we'll come back to you for more of your reporting in cairo. we want to go first to the white house scurrying behind the scenes while the president stayed off television all day and intentionally kept a low profile, that changed tonight. our chief white house correspondent, chuck todd, at the white house with more on what the president's response is tonight. we said this puts the white house and the united states in a strange position. >> reporter: it really does. for much of the white house today they were like us,

watching everything they could get their hands on, whether it's al jazeera, egyptian television, tracking down the same rumors we were tracking down. they didn't have a lot of information. it was at a 4:00 meeting with his principals, vice president biden, secretary clinton, the new chief of staff, admiral mullen, that the president decided he had to say something publicly. he had to call president mubarak. that's when the whole thing set in motion. here's a little bit of what the president shared with the public about his conversation with president mubarak. when president mubarak addressed the egyptian people tonight, he pledged a better democracy and greater economic opportunity. i just spoke to him after his speech and i told him he has a responsibility to give meaning to those words. to take concrete steps and actions that deliver on that promise. >> reporter: brian, you could see the tone change really throughout the day from the white house both with robert gibbs's briefing, secretary

clinton earlier and the president at night where they basically are getting tougher and tougher and tougher on president mubarak to the point where you heard them even threaten that foreign aid, brian. >> in again what is a tough situation for them. all right, chuck todd at the white house. thanks. we now want to talk about what's happening across a whole region. remember, tunisia, algeria, yemen and egypt. especially egypt right now puts the u.s. in this delicate position. we talk about foreign aid. here's a figure. as much as $1.5 billion egypt receives from the u.s. every year. nbc's andrea mitchell with us from our washington newsroom tonight with more on how this day played out and how this crisis is playing out. andrea, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. the uprising against egypt's president created a crisis for president obama. for decades under democratic and republican administrations, mubarak has been america's closest ally in the middle east.

even before the president spoke as hosni mubarak began losing control of the streets, the u.s. had started toughening its response. >> these protests underscore that there are deep grievances within egyptian society. and the egyptian government needs to understand that violence will not make these grievances go away. >> reporter: the president had an extended intelligence briefing and until tonight did not try to call mubarak. for decades egypt has received billions in u.s. military and civilian aid, more than any country other than israel. currently u.s. aid to egypt is $1.5 billion a year. today the white house warned it could cut aid if the crackdown escalates. >> we will be reviewing our assistance posture based on events that take place in the coming days. >> reporter: in 2009 the president chose cairo to call

for more democracy in the arab world. >> suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. >> reporter: but there has been little follow-up say critics. egypt has long been america's most reliable partner in the middle east and mubarak a key ally against al qaeda. >> he has been a bullwart in the area in a secular government in an area increasingly dominated by more religious extremists. >> reporter: so despite widespread fraud by mubarak's party in elections last november, criticism from the u.s. was muted. as late as yesterday, vice president biden called mubarak an important ally. >> and i think that it would be -- i would not refer to him as a dictator. >> reporter: now after the government fell in tunisia and a hezbollah government took over lebanon, are other pro u.s. arab leaders at risk? >> i think this thing has gone viral and we're not seeing the end of it in egypt. we're going to see it in yemen

and we're going to see it all over the arab world now. >> reporter: the question tonight is does mubarak genuinely understand the meaning of the demonstrations and initiate real reforms or just try to manage the crisis. from his speech tonight, u.s. officials are not encouraged. >> heard that expression "go viral" all day today along with the expression "a prairie fire." but we shall see. all these situations are different. andrea mitchell, thanks. as promised, let's go back to richard engle in cairo. i should point out richard lived and worked in cairo for many years while starting out as a reporter, so, richard, you know the place well. if people were watching the pictures out of there today without the sound up, for example, it would look strange. there is clashes with police, yet not with the army. in this country both of them are respected members of our society, but in egypt they are treated quite differently. >> reporter: that's very true, brian. i lived here about four years just starting out in journalism. i lived in a very poor

neighborhood and the police weren't popular then, they're not popular now. the people come into contact with the police all the time. often they're unpleasant experiences, demanding petty bribes, shakedowns. the army is a very different situation. the army is not deployed in the cities. the soldiers are on bases, pretty much in the deserts, on the outskirts of cairo, and they're highly respected. so today all of the violence was directed at the riot police and other forces associated with the interior ministry. when the army moved in, the egyptian protesters stepped back. they didn't want to fight the army. they still don't want to fight the army. and that, so far, has been what's holding the city together and keeping what little calm there is that remains right now. >> i've also seen the protesters let civilian traffic go by there. their quarrel is not with their fellow citizens. i've seen the army surround and protect the central museum there that houses the great antiquities of egypt. >> reporter: that was a scene earlier today.

first egyptians, just demonstrators and people who live in the area formed a human chain around the museum. there had been some reports of looting in downtown. they didn't want anyone to go in and steal these priceless antiquities. then the egyptian army moved in, put some armored vehicles around the main entrances, and people were very supportive of that. >> all right. richard engle continuing his reporting in cairo tonight. richard, thanks. we talked about social media. one more word on that specifically twitter. this crisis spread like wildfire on twitter and other services. we have a live feed up here now, you can look over my shoulder. these are all actually slower than realtime comments. anyone who is leaving a twitter comment, talking to each other on the subject of the uprising in egypt, it's going that fast. there's that many of them. if anything, it slowed down to accommodate all the traffic. and this is despite the fact that egyptians shut down the

internet there in egypt. a british newspaper put together a graphic of internet traffic. you see it falls off a cliff when, assuming along with the cooperation of service providers, they shut off internet service. but resourceful people in this electronic age have found a way to communicate with the outside we'll take a break at this point. when we come back, some of the day's other news. the shootout inside a police precinct tonight. the video has been released. what do the pictures show? and later, it was 25 years ago today, the tragedy that stopped this nation cold along with this nation's space program.

we have an update tonight on a story we told you about monday. a man under police investigation in detroit walks into a police precinct, opens fire on several officers. it was all captured on surveillance cameras. today the department there released the tapes.

fair warning, some folks may find this video disturbing. our report tonight from nbc's kevin tibbles. >> reporter: this surveillance video shows police officers diving for cover after a gunman calmly walked into detroit's 6th precinct and opened fire. the shooter, 38-year-old lamar moore, came into the station on sunday carrying a shotgun with a pistol grip leveled at the officers inside. four were wounded, four more were shot dead. >> there are some tremendous acts of heroism within this video. to see officers perform in a spectacular way. >> reporter: today detroit police made that video public to demonstrate how its officers acted under fire. the shots began in the entranceway but moore then lunged. >> then he hurls himself over the desk. you see him come over the desk here. >> reporter: with several

officers down, moore comes face to face with commander brian davis. >> he engages this gentleman at almost point-blank range. >> reporter: both guns go off, the commander is hit in the hand. >> he's also shot in the back at this point. >> reporter: the gunman rounds the desk, but does not fire again. moments later, he is killed by a police round. police were looking for moore in connection with the kidnapping and sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl who managed to get away from him earlier in the day. police were called to and raided this home sunday afternoon just a short time later at 4:00 p.m., moore stormed the precinct. >> we are very thankful to god all four members who were injured are going to be okay. >> reporter: two of the injured officers remain in the hospital. kevin tibbles, nbc news, chicago. now to our economy and how it relates to our lead story tonight. on wall street today concern over the situation in egypt triggered the biggest sell-off in weeks. the dow was down 166 points.

but here you go, look what happened just today to the price of oil. up $3.70. that's all about concern over egypt. it closed today above $89 a barrel. up next, the day the earth stood still because our attempt to slip the surly bonds of earth had failed. would you believe it's been 25 years since the "challenger."

where were you 25 years ago today? if you're old enough to remember, then you remember the event and you likely know exactly where you were when you learned the shuttle "challenger" had blown up, exploded on takeoff, killing seven astronauts, including christa mcauliffe, the first teacher in space. today has been a day to reflect on the tragedy and nasa's changing mission. our report from nbc's tom costello. >> pilot mike smith followed by christa mcauliffe, teacher in space. >> reporter: 25 years later, those images of "challenger's" smiling eager crew also bring gut-wrenching foreboding. we know of the safety shortcuts the unheeded warnings and those five words that would stay with us forever. >> challenger, go with throttle

up. >> challenger going with throttle up. >> i was a 17-year-old student. at that time thinking what did i just see? we weren't sure what we just saw. >> reporter: mikayla pond, now a teacher, was watching the launch at concord high school in new hampshire. the school where christa mcauliffe was teaching when she was selected to be the first teacher in space. instead for mikayla and thousands of kids across the country, "challenger" became a lesson in loss and grief. >> a shock of our teacher is no longer with us. >> reporter: today at the kennedy space center, a solemn tribute. >> we who remain on the ground and asked them to fly failed them that day as we would fail the crew of "columbia" 17 years later and as we failed the crew of "apollo 1" 19 years before. >> this is our wedding picture. >> reporter: commander dick scobee's widow, june, has carried on the mission, founding the challenger learning center to inspire the next generation

of teachers and explorers. >> we didn't want the "challenger" to be the end of the chapter in space exploration. we saw it as a transition chapter. >> reporter: now with the space shuttle fleet set to retire this year, the orbiting space station complete and a moon mission off the table, what's next for nasa? where does it go? >> we've been so wrapped up in the shuttle, perhaps, that we haven't done enough forward planning. >> reporter: 25 years after "challenger" nasa's next chapter is yet to be written. tom costello, nbc news, washington. in just a moment here as promised, we'll go back to richard engle in cairo for the very latest on the tense situation there tonight.

we're back and one more time let's update what certainly looks like a revolution in progress in the streets of egypt. richard engle remains in cairo. richard, good evening once again. >> reporter: good evening, brian. a lot of people are wondering what will happen tomorrow. so far this has not been an anti-american movement on the streets, but people are getting frustrated with the united states. they believe that the u.s. administration wants to give mubarak a pass. that as long as he promises

reforms and not to carry out any major, major violent crackdown, that they will accept him to stay in power. but what's scattered on the streets of cairo right now are these little canisters. these were the tear gas canisters that were fired by all those riot police today. and if you look at them closely, they say clearly in english, "made in the usa." egyptians have been picking them up, looking them over and from an egyptian perspective it does seem like mubarak and the united states are working together, so the u.s. is walking a fine line here. >> all right, richard engle. superb reporting all day on the streets of cairo on this situation. still changing tonight. richard, thanks. a reminder, nbc news will stay with the story, of course, all weekend long. tomorrow morning on "today," back here tomorrow night on nbc "nightly news." of course any time on msnbc, cable, the internet and tonight on your late local news. for us for now, however, that's our broadcast for this friday

night and for this week. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we'll look for you back here of course on monday night. in the meantime have a good weekend. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >> good evening. breaking news right now in the search for the missing northern california boy. the car he was last seen in has been found. specialized diving crews within minutes have pulled the car from out of the canal in patterson off of i-5 just south of tracy. the car has been found, but within the last two minutes we have learned that julianni and