to say the least. thanks for joining us at 5:00. we'll see you again at 6:00. >> see you then. tonight, breaking news on several stories as we come on the air. a dramatic takedown in the manhunt for two escaped killers. one shot dead. we're there tonight. law of the land. american history as the supreme court rules same-sex marriage is legal in every state in the union. celebrations and weddings under way. massacre at the beach. deadly terror attacks on three different continents. and tonight nbc news has learned u.s. intelligence is bracing for a july 4th threat. and amazing grace. a rousing, extraordinary tribute in charleston as president obama leads a church of mourners and a wounded city in song and an unforgettable remembrance. a very busy night, and our coverage begins right now.

from nbc news world headquarters in new york this is "nbc nightly news with lester holt." >> good evening. quite frankly, we haven't seen a news day this busy in a very long time. so many major stories we're following. the day starting with a landmark decision by the u.s. supreme court, making same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states. emotional reactions across the country, marking a dramatic and historic shift in this country's social landscape. and a story we plan to have extensive coverage of tonight. but at this moment there are breaking developments in the hunt for those escaped killers in upstate new york. we want to get right to nbc's stephanie gosk in malone new york. stephanie, what's happened? >> reporter: good evening, lester. this is an active scene in malone right now. two senior new york officials tell us that richard matt has been shot and killed but his sidekick david sweat, is on the loose in these woods. after a nearly

three-week-long manhunt and a jaw-dropping prison break, this could finally be coming to an end tonight. two new york state officials tell nbc news that richard matt has been shot and killed 50 miles from clinton correctional facility in the town of malone near lake titus. >> we've got one guy down. >> reporter: multiple law enforcement sources tell nbc news that matt and sweat were traveling close together when a border patrol tactical team encountered matt and opened fire when he appeared to have raise a shotgun and pointed it at them. authorities were conducting a sweep near route 30 when they heard shots near a campground. after that the team closed in on matt. evidence at the scene indicates that sweat was nearby and authorities say they are close to moving in on him. officials believed they were getting closer to a capture, saying last weekend, dna evidence at a cabin near the small town of owlshead new york was a positive match to both convicts. we got an exclusive look at that cabin today, located a mile and a half into the woods off the main

dirt road called wolf pond road. it's a hike up here. and matt and sweat would have had to come along this road. the question everyone has who lives here on their mind is how did they know to make the turn back there? how did they know to keep walking? it's part of a hunting camp called twisted horn which is owned by corrections officers. three of them work at clinton correctional. but the person who discovered the convicts, whos at another prison. the story is that the cabin owner came up here on his atv. he just had his dog and a gun. and he was coming to check the cabin. he looks through the door and he saw someone move. another positive dna hit at another cabin today, authorities say, 13 miles north in malone. near where matt was shot tonight. it's been 21 days since the convicts' daring escape from the maximum-security prison. the two cutting through walls and pipes, using a catwalk to get out, exiting through this manhole. authorities have followed thousands of leads. zeroing in on the area near the prison.

>> we have no reason to believe they're in canada yet. >> reporter: the terrain had not made this an easy capture for law enforcement. >> it's rugged, it's tenacious. weather has not cooperated. it's probably been as much of a challenge to the inmates as it has been to law enforcement. >> reporter: there are very few roads here in malone leading to lake titus. they have all been shut down. and residents who are trying to get back to their homes are told it's just simply too dangerous to go through there now. lester? >> stephanie gosk in upstate new york thank you. now to that historic supreme court decision legalizing same-sex marriage across the land. and it's profound. the 5-4 vote in many ways reflecting the huge societal shift of the last 20 years. the president saying today there are days like this when that slow steady effort is rewarded with justice that arrives like a thunderbolt. we'll have all the celebrations across the country and also hear from those left disappointed by the decision. but first, let's get to the court and our justice correspondent, pete williams. pete, set the scene for us.

>> reporter: lester good evening. it's the most important gay rights ruling ever and it's the culmination of decades of legal battles. it comes from a supreme court that just 30 years ago said gay people could be punished as criminals. a huge cheer, then singing as the decision reaches the crowd out front. ♪ banner yet wave ♪ the historic ruling struck down the bans on same-sex marriage still in effect in 14 states all of them in the south and the midwest. it was already legal everywhere else. justice anthony kennedy wrote the 5-4 ruling joined by the court's liberals. the right of same-sex couples to marry is part of the liberty promised by the constitution kennedy said which grants them equal dignity in the eyes of the law. after the decision was announced, the crowd seemed to grow. people wanting to celebrate and be closer to the supreme court. couples who fought the bans in kentucky were ecstatic. >> it's been a long path for us in our 33

years. we know that people have been fighting this fight for decades. >> reporter: pam yorksmith and her partner battled ohio's ban. >> for us this started out as a dream to add my name to our son's birth certificate. >> reporter: james wanted to be declared the survivor on his spouse's death certificate. >> i know in my heart that john is with me today. >> reporter: each of the supreme court's four conservatives filed a dissent. chief justice john roberts said the couples made strong arguments rooted in social policy and fairness but such a decision he said should rest with the people, not judges. justice antonin scalia called the court's reasoning a threat to american democracy. if he had written the ruling he said i would hide my head in a bag. stloo and we hope that this decision today will not be used as an excuse to ostracize, to demonize or to punish people for holding views contrary to what five of the nine justices said today. >> reporter: massachusetts in 2003 was the first state to

permit marriage for gay couples. others followed slowly then a rush of court rulings in the past two years brought it to 70% of the nation's population. >> people don't have to hold their breath as they cross state lines and worry they're going to lose their marriage and lose their protections as they do. >> reporter: today's ruling settles the issue of same-sex marriage nationwide. it could be undone but only by a constitutional amendment or by a future supreme court that changes its mind and neither of those seems at all likely. lester? >> pete williams thanks. across the country right now, wedding bells are ringing in texas and alabama and georgia, places where some people thought this day might never come. celebrations are under way tonight, and nbc's hallie jackson has all the latest. >> reporter: from the stonewall inn in new york to san francisco's city hall celebrations decades in the making. but perhaps none as meaningful as these. same-sex marriage ceremonies in states where it was illegal before today. like in arkansas.

>> spouses for life. >> reporter: and in texas where jack evans and george harris finally wed after 50 years together. >> we didn't want to rush into anything. but we're ready. >> reporter: the paperwork was not quite with the word "woman" still printed on the marriage license. >> the time has come and texas has finally caught. with history. love rules. >> reporter: social media lit up with profile pictures turning to rainbows and 33,000 tweets per minute at its peak. ellen degeneres writing simply "love won." and tim cook apple's openly gay ceo, calling it a victory for equality, perseverance and love. >> you wouldn't think that something so basic could take so long. >> reporter: two decades ago, only 27% of americans supported same-sex marriage. now 60% do. but that shift is far less pronounced among republicans. about six in ten oppose the court's decision according to

our latest nbc news/"wall street journal" poll with many christians especially in conservative parts of the nation deeply unsettled. >> it's not the will of the people to have same-sex marriage. now there's no point in having civil marriage in this country whatsoever. >> reporter: in alabama, at least two counties are refusing to issue any marriage licenses. gay or straight. >> this is a sad day for children a sad day for our constitution a sad day for america. >> reporter: for opponents of same-sex marriage, a blow from the supreme court. for supporters a victory for equality and love. and in west hollywood, which was one of the first cities in the country to publicly support marriage equality thousands of people are expected at a rally tonight, lester. and for many of them it's the perfect way to cap gay pride month. >> thanks very much. another major story still developing tonight, three terror attacks today on three different continents playing out, almost simultaneously in france kuwait and

tunisia where a massacre occurred at a beach resort popular with european tourists. and here at home nbc news has learned tonight u.s. intelligence is bracing for a july 4th threat. we want to bring in michael leiter former director of the national counterterrorism center now executive vice president of the private security firm leitos. isis has been calling for, quote, a month of disaster. is that what we saw play out here an answer to that call? >> i think it largely was, lester. and what this really showed is the diverse threat that officials face. you have the one in kuwait which is really driven by the sunni/shia divide. you have in tunisia, a less secure situation because of the arab awakening. and then you have what strikes the greatest fear in u.s. officials, and that's the attack by the likely homegrown terrorists in france. >> and we hear this perhaps its threat for july 4th that officials will be on the lookout for here. the nature of these kinds of attacks seem low-tech. is there a way to

prevent them? >> it's extremely difficult. the fbi has active investigations in all 50 states. these can come up from almost anywhere. so they are watching people they know about, but it's the ones they don't know about with guns knives or just a car that really does make them nervous. and july 4th is obviously a good target even if there isn't anything specific that they're watching today. >> michael leiter thanks very much. and with more on today's attacks and the fears here at home let's go to nbc's kelly cobiella. >> reporter: the attack turns this mediterranean beach resort into a scene of bloody horror. bodies motionless in the sand. people rushing to help survivors. many of the wounded in shock. eyewitnesses described utter panic. >> we were on the beach sunbathing and right by the pool all of a sudden we hear shooting. i stand up, and a guy drops an umbrella and out comes a gun. and he starts shooting at everybody to the right of us.

i got up and shouted "gun! run!" and he then started shooting everybody around him. >> and as i turned the bullet just hit me in my arm. >> reporter: one gunman was killed by police. at least two other suspects were taken into custody. the target tunisia's imperial marhaba holtztel popular with tourists including belgium, germany and great britain. >> our hearts go out to the victims of these appalling terrorist acts. >> reporter: just three months ago an attack on tunisia's national museum left 20 dead most of them tourists. today's toll, at least 37. in kuwait another attack. a suicide bomber struck a packed shiite mosque in the heart of kuwait city. he blew himself up during friday prayers. at least 27 worshippers dead more than 200 injured. >> security in kuwait is ex-treimerly tight. for this attack to

take place at a shia mosque in itself is extremely rare. >> reporter: in france a third attack. an american-owned gas factory outside lyon. a man crashed his vehicle into gas canisters, triggering an explosion that injured two people. the severed head of the man's employer was found at the factory gate. flags bearing arabic inscriptions inscriptions. the suspect, his wife and two others were arrested. just this week an isis spokesman called on ms. muslims to rise up. but word today'sere today's attacks coordinated? >> more importantly, this is what isis wants. isis has been calling on individuals whether they're in europe or in the middle east to carry out attacks of this scale. >> reporter: one day, three attacks. and fears of more to come. kelly cobiella nbc news tunis. we've got a lot more ahead including a spirited tribute to the victims of the charleston church massacre. the once-in-a-lifetime sight and sound of a

president breaking into song before an arena filled with mourners inspiring them to become a chorus of thousands.

the emanuel ame church in charleston south carolina as it looks tonight, just hours after thousands came together nearby for a moving memorial for the nine people massacred inside last week. president obama today paid tribute to the victims in his eulogy for reverend and state senator clementa

pinckney. we were in charleston as well this morning, speaking to some of the hundreds who lined up hours before the service. a diverse crowd who told us they were hoping for a message of unity from the president who delivered with spirit and with song. our ron allen continues to lead our coverage from charleston. >> reporter: the reverend/senator clementa pinckney left his beloved mother emanuel church for the last time this morning. as thousands gathered in a nearby sports arena turned into a sanctuary because so many mourners wanted to say good-bye. president obama who met the pastor here during the 2008 campaign led a delegation of national and state leaders. >> we are here today to remember a man of god who lived by faith. a man who believed there were better days ahead. off it the distance. >> reporter: he praised pinckney a preacher at age 13 as an activist minister and political fighter as well. elected to the statehouse at just 23 and then the senate.

and mr. obama praised pinckney's grace and saw that same goodness in the eight who died with him. >> blinded by hatred the alleged killer could not see the grace surrounding reverend pinckney. and that bible study group. >> reporter: mourners grieved throughout the city. families with children to witness history. watching the service at theaters museums, the streets in front of mother emanuel. the president's eulogy also a call to confront tough issues gun control, race relations, taking down the confederate flag. an impassioned president, mindful of the history of the church its pastor and the moment. even leading the congregation more than 5,000 strong, in singing an old hymn. ♪ amazing grace ♪ ♪ how sweet the sound ♪

♪ was blind but now i see ♪ may god continue to shed his grace on the united states of america. >> reporter: a very very powerful moment and many leaving that auditorium came here to mother emanuel for the services to continue. this evening friends and relatives gathering to pay their respects to cynthia hurd 54 a librarian. the funerals continue this weekend and on into next week. lester? >> ron, you've been there this long and painful week. the president was there to give a eulogy but clearly he was talking beyond that church. did it seem to bring together and send a message that that community was looking for? >> reporter: i think it did, lester.

politics aside, this week has been just so emotional, so disturbing so uplifting as well. and i think the president was caught up in all of that. it's impossible not to be standing in the auditorium are 5,000 people. and we also believe that he spent some time some good time with the families of those who lost loved ones here at this church. just a profound week. we've seen a lot of things over the years. this is an absolutely profound experience. >> ron, thank you. we're back in a moment with the sightseeing trip that quickly turned tragic for a group of tourists.

a tragic turn of events for a group of cruise ship passengers who went out on a sightseeing trip on a small float plane only to have it crash against a cliff in the wilds of alaska. the pilot and eight other people on board were all killed. all the passengers were from a holland america cruise ship. the cause of the crash is under investigation. on a trip to germany, queen elizabeth paid her very first visit to a former nazi

concentration camp. she toured the grounds where at least 52,000 people died during world war ii including anne frank. she also met with holocaust survivors and british veterans who helped liberate the camp 70 years ago. when we come back a week for the history books and what it means for our country moving forward.

next at 6: a big night ahead for the bay area. ===take vo raj === the celebrations have already begun. we'll take you live to pride weekend kickoff. ===take vo janelle === from 401k's to taking a job out of state. the economic impact of the landmark ruling.

===next close=== next. ==take sot== oc: families tonight marks the end of a momentous week in this country, a week filled with events that altered the very fabric of our american culture. and while we often see these seismic shifts through different lenses we have all become witnesses to history in the making over just a few days' time. here's harry smith. ♪ >> reporter: sometimes the occur rentcurrents of history surprise us, from the tragedy in charleston arose a movement that had long been stalled in complacency. >> make this day the day that the flag comes down. >> reporter: suddenly from state to state, the words rang out loud and clear, take down the flag. and this morning, the supreme court made clear that the rights of gay americans are equal to that of everyone else. >> today's ruling from the supreme court

affirms what millions across this country already know to be true in our hearts. our love is equal. >> reporter: a civil rights ruling that not so long ago seemed far-fetched. in an instant, the future was here now. and yesterday, the court ruled the government does indeed have the right to subsidize health care for the poor. >> health care is not a privilege for a few but a right for all. >> reporter: will the affordable care act become this generation's social security? >> whoo! >> win! >> reporter: what some embrace as progress others will argue is egress. our american family will always have its differences, navigating change though is what makes us who we are. harry smith, nbc news, charleston. >> a week that will be remembered for a long time to come. for some of you, that is going to do it for us on this friday night. for other stations our coverage continues with a second half hour of news in just a moment. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc

news thank you for watching. and good night. and this ruling is a victory for america. >> family matters. >> a final victory, same-sex marriage now allowed in all 50 states after today's supreme court ruling. the culmination of a fight that began right here in san francisco. good evening. thanks for joining us. i'm janelle wang in for jessica aguirre. >> and i'm raj mathai. it's a defining day in this country who hits home for the bay area. as night begins to fall this

country's true colors are revealed. it's dusk in the nation's capital and you see the white house draped in the rainbow colors. there were crowds at san francisco city hall this morning. the scene in washington, d.c. also filled with pride after that ruling was issued. >> we have team coverage from all angles of the story, crews across the bay standing by. >> let's begin with mark matthews in san francisco. we could see up to 2 million celebrating in the city this weekend. >> reporter: that's right. this is where it all started, in front of city hall where we are right now, where in 2004 the first marriage licenses were handed out to same-sex couples and this is where city leaders wanted to be today to celebrate. he told me he had a feeling and he wasn't the only former supervisor who wanted to be here. >> part of me thought i would never be able to see it happen. it's a joyous