through most of the day. more of the times coming up of course at 6:00 p.m. >> lester holt is next. night, americans missing, a helicopter carrying u.s. marines on an aid mission disappears as another devastating quake strikes nepal. tonight dozens killed over 1,000 injured as military families wait for word on that chopper. no charges for the police officer in the death of an unarmed teenager, a shooting that set off days of protests. damage control, facing a firestorm of criticism, including from within his own party, jeb bush tries to clear things up about what he just said about the iraq war. and sudden impact a newer kind of crash test, more like real life accidents. what it's revealing about some of the most popular suvs on the road.

"nightly news" begins right now. from nbc news headquarters in new york, this the "nbc nightly news." reporting tonight, lester holt. good evening, missing american military helicopter and its crew are among the many worries in nepal tonight after that country was hit again by another major quake. this one was a magnitude 7.3. it struck midway between katmandhu and mt. everest. killing dozens more and injecting new fear and misery in a place already stretched past its breaking point. while here at home there's growing worry about the fate of some of the american rescuers. a u.s. marine helicopter and its california-based crew have vanished today while performing in the relief mission in the rugged mountains of nepal. we have two reports, jim miklaszewski with late word on the chopper search. >> reporter: it was nearing sunset when the u.s. helicopter like this one, killing 6 u.s. marines and two soldiers suddenly disappeared.

all radio contact was lost. there was reportedly brief radio chatter from the u.s. chopper about a fuel problem, but then total silence. no distress call, no emergency beacons, nothing. a 90-minute search by relief osprey was called off because of darkness. the helicopter was delivering relief supplies to earthquake victims in the village of charicot. the rugged mountains and terrains seriously hamper any rescue efforts. the marines are part of 300 u.s. military personnel, who began arriving after the first earthquake april 25th. with three helicopters and four rotor-tilt ospreys, the americans, including those six missing marines, have delivered 40 ton of relief aid and rescued 993 earthquake victims. dawn is about to break in nepal, when search and rescue efforts will resume.

the hope is this helicopter safely settled into a deep valley, where surrounding mountains could easily block out any radio distress calls. and tonight, officials here refused to even consider the alternative. lester? all right. jim mick chefs skiklaszewskimiklaszewski, thank you. today's quake in nepal, while massive in its own right is an aftershock from the stronger quake that killed 8,000 there last month. our chief foreign correspondent richard engel is back from spending weeks in nepal. he has our report in this compounding tragedy. >> reporter: the earth moved again. just as nepal was starting to recover. a 7.3 earthquake brought down buildings already weakened by the even stronger quake 17 days ago. temples collapsed. patients were carried outside. a camera in parliament recorded the moment the quake hit. and members cleared

out. across katmandhu, terrified people poured into the streets. among them unicef spokesman kent page. >> it struck very hard, very fast, very loud, and it was very scary. we really felt like the walls and the entire building around us was going to collapse on top of that. >> we just saw everyone running out on the street. it was a scary experience. >> today's epicenter was east of katmandhu, closer to mt. evrest. but this time base camp was empty. the climbers gone. the season cancelled after the april quake triggered a deadly avalanche here. the people in the tiny mountain villages near evrest have nowhere to run. they were already suffering from the first quake when we visited them last week. in katmandhu there were some international rescue teams and international aid money came in. up here in the mountains, there's been almost nothing. these remote villages

are now in even greater need of assistance. so are people across nepal. and they are afraid the earth will shake again. richard engel nbc news. back here at home, a major development tonight in a deadly officer-involved shooting in wisconsin, an incident that only added to national scrutiny police now find themselves under after a string of recent deadly encounters. time now that the investigation is complete the officer will not face charges. nbc's ron allen has more tonight from madison. >> i am so very sorry for your loss. >> with that apology to tony robinson's mother for her 19-year-old son's death, district attorney ishmael ozan announced no criminal charges will be filed against officer matt kenny. >> this tragic and unfortunate death was the result of lawful use of deadly police force. >> reporter: he described a violent

and chaotic night, saying robinson had assaulted several people. >> tony was acting kind of crazy, and came up to him, and tried to choke him. >> reporter: police radio calls. robinson's friends had asked for help. >> i look for a light skinned black male 19 years of age, his name is tony robinson. >> reporter: robinson's death ignited several days of protests. his mother had called it a massacre. >> what they didn't do is give my sony respect. and they didn't do a thorough, full investigation. >> reporter: prosecutors said officer matt ken he followed robinson to a nearby house, heard a disturbance and encountered robinson just inside a doorway. >> he said phony robinson immediately turned the corner and struck him with a closed fist. >> prosecutors said kenny fired seven shots while retreating. >> this is not what democracy looks like. >> reporter: outside defiance. as protesters gathered for a march to the state capitol. are you surprised by this? >> i think i'm concerned about how our community responds.

>> reporter: the prosecutor, a lifelong resident, had emphasize that he, like robinson, is bi-racial with a black mother who worries about her son. none administrators are gathering not far from here. many are not pleased by today's decision either. police have been preparing for this day in time as well. so far, no confrontations. lester? >> ron allen in madison tonight, thank you. jeb bush is in damage control mode, trying to clarify how he answered a question about the war in iraq, and knowing what we know now whether he would have authorized the u.s. invasion as his brother former president george w. bush did. he's facing criticism for his answer, including some from within his own party. nbc's kristen welker reports. >> reporter: jeb bush under fire after making these controversial comments about the iraq war on fox news monday. >> knowing what we know now, would you have authorized the invasion? >> i would have, and so would have hillary clinton, just to remind everybody.

and so would have almost everybody that was confronted with the intelligence that they got. >> reporter: late today, bush tried to walk back his remarks. >> i interpreted the question wrong, i was talking about giving what people knew then, would you have done it? rather than knowing what we know now. >> reporter: but when pressed -- >> so, in other words, if in 20/20 hindsight you would make a different decision? >> yeah, i don't know what that decision would have been. that's a hypothetical. mistakes were made. >> reporter: the bush camp went into damage control mode early today when one of his former aides tried to clarify his comments. >> i e-mailed him this morning, and said, i'm confused by this answer, i'm wondering, did you mishear the question, and he said, yes, i misheard the question. >> reporter: bush was blasted by democrats and some fellow republicans. >> i don't think you can honestly say that if you knew then that there was no wmd that the country should have gone to war. >> what he said was just rubbish.

you can't still think going into iraq now as a sane human being was the right thing to do. >> reporter: polls show a majority of americans and even most republicans now say the iraq war wasn't worth it and bush has previously tried to distance himself from his brother, former president george w. bush, but that's complicated. >> the iraq war is always going to be a vulnerability for jeb bush, maybe his biggest vulnerability has been his last name. >> reporter: a double-edged sword in a race that's wide open. kristen welker, nbc news, washington. a major set back for one of president obama's top economic priorities. and the blow was delivered by the president's own party. today the majority of senate democrats broke with the white house and blocked the start of debate on a package of trade-related bills. this was a rare situation where most republicans agreed with president obama, supporting expanded trade agreement, but many congressional democrats say they want more protections for american workers. the defeat is a sign of the tension between the president and the most progressive wing

of/hen party. for the first time in two years secretary of state john kerry met with vladimir putin. they spoke in sochi about syria, iran's nuclear program and at length, the crisis in ukraine. this is the highest level u.s. visit to russia since the crisis began in late 2013. russia admitted today the cease-fire in ukraine is still being violated. but it denies sending in troops or arming rebels. tonight a war of words erupted over the punishment handed down over new england patriots star quarterback tom brady suspended for the first four games of next season after the patriots were found to have used underinflated football for an advantage in the playoffs. the investigation also found it is more probable than not that brady was at least generally aware of what was happening. nbc's peter alexander with the latest now. >> you got to be kidding me. >> reporter: on boston sports radio today outraged patriots fans sounded off. >> everyone looks for an advantage in the

nfl. that's what drives me crazy about this. >> the nfl is nothing short of a den of thieves. >> reporter: robert kraft, long viewed as roger goodell's closest allies, argued the punishment far exceeded expectations. brady's agent came out blasting the suspension as ridiculous. insisting the penalty was predetermined by the league. it's that stiff suspension fueling the most traffic on twitter today. including comparisons to the initial punishment former baltimore ravens running back ray rice received, two games for punching his fiancee. tom brady gets double the suspension of ray rice? the nfl is an absolute joke. >> this isn't a court of law. this is the weird world of the nfl and what the patriots were accused of and found guilty of doing is affecting the integrity of the crime. that is an important punishment that is an important crime.

>> reporter: the patriots facing a $1 million fine defiantly replacing his picture. sales of all things brady have doubled. as fans rally behind the qb. >> it's ridiculous. a fraud. >> it's about some air in a ball. he didn't commit a crime. he didn't commit a felony. it's nothing like that. just leave him alone. >> reporter: a handful of rogue patriots fanatics handcuffed themselves together in the lobby of the nfl headquarters. another group launched a go fund me campaign to cover the nfl fine. the tally for the fans, more than $9,000. tom brady's agent is vowing to appeal that suspension. they have until 5:00 p.m. thursday to get that done. >> all right, peter, thank you. the danger is not over in the southern plains after a streak of deadly tornados tore through several states. tonight there are new fears of flooding in the very same area as people rushed to pick

up the pieces with a particularly violent tornado season hitting its peak. nbc's kerry sanders with more now from texas. >> reporter: all that's left in van, texas are the front stairs. >> material things can be replaced, lives cannot. >> reporter: the tornado here ripped the single-story home from its foundation and spun it airborne. >> it felt like we were in the bowl of a blender, being turned, twisted around and around. >> reporter: inside six members of the moore family. >> all of us were in the closet and -- and the tornado hit us. >> reporter: 7-year-old macy and her 4-year-old brother cody wound up on top of the debris. everyone else under the rubble. >> i couldn't find my mommy. >> reporter: the tornado's 9.9-mile path as wide as seven football fields. preliminary reports show 160 tornados touched down in 11 states since last wednesday. why so violent? >> the jet stream has

flip-flopped from what we saw over the winter when we had record heat in the west, record cold in the east. now it's hot in the east and cool in the west with a snow storm, plus tornadoes. >> reporter: last year nation suffered more than $13 billion in tornado, wind and hail damage. but today in texas, it wasn't all about what was lost, rather what was found. andy reunited with his missing dog tator. >> i'm glad i got my dog back. and there's a spirit alive here that 140-mile-per-hour winds just could not destroy. >> united we stand, together. >> reporter: kerry sanders, nbc news, van, texas. there is big news tonight in the world of business, two big names coming together, verizon says it's buying aol for $4.4 billion. the nation's largest wireless carrier is looking to maybe inroads in mobile

video and advertising by snapping up one of the digital's oldest brands in aol which also owns popular websites like the huffington post and tech crunch. still ahead as we continue tonight. how safe are some of the most popular suvs in america in the new crash test results are in. which ones came out on top and which didn't fare as well in a sudden impact? later, following the big campaign to put a woman on the $20 bill. who is america's choice? tonight we have a winner.

if you or someone in your family is considering buying a new suv, there is new crash test data out tonight that may influence what you buy. the insurance institute has tested seven-mid-sized suvs including the most popular suvs on the road. only one gets the highest rating. we get the latest from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: they are some of the most popular mid-sized suvs on the market. put through new crash tests at the insurance institute for highway safety, and this crest it critical. the small overlap test replicates what happens when the front corner of the vehicle hits a poll, tree or car. missing the front structure of the vehicle that might otherwise protect the people inside. the kind of serious accident that often means firefighters must cut victims out

of the car. 25% of car accident injuries occur in just this type of accident. >> we have lower leg injuries. femur fractures in the upper leg and hip injuries and then sometimes depending on how far it goes we'll have internal injuries. >> reporter: it's pretty serious stuff. >> yeah, real serious. >> reporter: the good news three of the seven suvs tested earned a good or acceptable rating. the ford flex the jeep wrangler four-door and receiving the top score, the nissan mirano. >> this is what we like to see, the occupant compartment held up well keeping intrusion to a minimum. >> reporter: four of the seven suvs received marginal or poor scores, the hyundai santa fe, jeep cherokee dodge durango. >> the structure collapsed, moving the driver air bags out of the path of the driver's head. >> reporter: the vehicles meet or

exceed government standards, and they're confident in the safety of their suvs. tom costello, nbc news, washington. a new snapshot of who we are, few americans identifying themselves as christians. also a health scare for a tv food star, part of a power couple going public with a private medical fight tonight.

america is now a less christian country was a few years ago. according to a new study, over 70% of americans describe themselves as christian compared to 78% in 2007. also of note, the number of americans who are religiously unaffiliated is nearly 23%. it's up from 16% in 2007. food network television star sandra lee announced today she's been diagnosed with breast cancer and will undergo a double mastectomy. her boyfriend new york governor andrew cuomo says he plans to take time off to support her. the 48-year-old lee says she has no family history of breast cancer, and it was found after a routine mammogram. she's going public to encourage other women to get screened. an anonymous buyer just paid a jaw-dropping price for

a pick co $179.4 million for "women of al gears version 0." the most expensive price for a piece of art ever paid at auction. it shattered the old record price by $24 million. when we come back, americans decide which new face they'd like to see on the $20 bill.

the people have spoken or at least hundreds of thousands of them have online. what they are saying is move over andrew jackson. they want a woman's face on the $20 bill. we first reported on the women of 20s movement when it went viral. today they announced the big winner. here's hallie jackson. >> reporter: after weeks of anticipation. the announcement -- >> it's harriet tubman! >> reporter: harriet tubman, the people's pick to replace andrew jackson on the $20 bill. from classrooms coast to coast. >> i think that her story and what she did is just so incredible. >> reporter: and at her memorial in harlem, they are celebrating the abolitionist who helped slaves escape on the underground railroad who in her roads never lost a passenger.

>> she helped us get through great struggles and she deserves to be on the $20 bill. >> reporter: more than 600,000 people cast ballots and in the end only 7,000 votes separated tubman from eleanor roosevelt, part of a months long movement to convince the treasury to put a woman on the 20. >> part of the requirement is, the woman must not be alive. i don't want it that bad. >> reporter: el 11 may be out but we all know that washington is getting in on it. >> we all know that the all mighty dollar speaks. what if it had a woman's voice. >> reporter: putting woman on the 20 doesn't need approval from congress, just the president's treasury secretary which is why organizers delivered a petition to the white house today and hope this hashtag catches on. what message do you have for the president then? >> i think that the president should definitely put a woman on the $20 bill because we are power powerful. >> reporter: a powerful pick who reminds us every great dream begins with a dreamer. >> dear

mr. president. >> reporter: a message and movement to make it right on the money. hallie jackson, nbc news, los angeles. >> that will do it for us on this tuesday night. i'm lester holt. from all of us here at nbc news, thanks for watching and nbc bay area news starts now. going to have one in my brother's room -- in my room i hid in the closet -- >> right now at 6:00 no fear for this little girl, how she led police. >> she showed no fear last night a burglar broke into a little girl's home. her mom ran out with her baby brother leaving the 4-year-old behind.

nbc bay area's nanette miranda has more. >> reporter: yes the mom wanted to go back in the house to get her little girl and realized her mistake at the same time. and she was on the phone with 911, they said no way, don't go back in the house. we don't know if the intruder is armed. but luckily police got here very quickly. >> yeah it was pretty scary. >> reporter: cell phone video shows the antioch police nabbing a suspected burglar inside the home last night, and the arrest all thanks to this 4-year-old girl. yes, a 4-year-old. her name is nene yeager. >> you were brave. >> reporter: it all began last night when a man