on our broadcast tonight, outrage, the murder of a tunjer that has become a national movement. new pressure on the police. two steps forward, a big win at the polls, a big new endorsement, but it happened ben again. one step back for the romney campaign. mean season, the downside of early summer. bhie millions of suffering through this otherwise pleasant arrival of warm weather. >> and the news in sports. and the boomtown, what is that shaking homes and nerves, keeping all the people up at nights. the mystery in a small midwestern town.

"nightly news" begins now. good evening. they are driven by a social media came pain, by mainstream media coverage, by sadness and out rablg at the thought that an innocent teenager was killed outside his father's home in florida. to show you the level of concern over this case in florida, this is a rally under way tonight here in new york. national attention has now come crashing down on the case of trayvon martin. he was 17 years old. he was encountered by a neighborhood watch volunteer who had a gun. he has not been arrested, and now that the feds and the media have swoops in on this case, the pressure is on. we begin tonight with ron allen in florida. >> reporter: with a grand jury about to review the case, today,

state investigators gathderred potential evidence at the gated community where 17-year-old trayvon martin was gunned down 21 days ago by neighborhood watchman. today, the police chief said his claim was supported by physical evidence and testimony. the orlando sentinel spoke to a winlz. >> i saw someone lying on the ground and i heard someone yelling for help. i heard the shot and right when i heard the shot, the screaming stopped. >> george zimmerman has not been charged in the shooting. neighbors said today they asked him to move out of his townhouse, and residents listed a long grievance of police treatment of young black men before the martin case. >> they put these black boys in jail and give the all kinds of bogus charges, and they're not true. >> enough is enough. we're sick and tired of it. >> reporter: the remarks will go to justice department

investigators in washington, and at nat same meeting, sanford's mayor pledged to take action. >> i want everyone to know i take this personally. i can't right the ship in one day. i know there's a lot of tension. >> we as people of color are going to stand our ground. >> at a wn hall meeting last night, residents expressed outrage about the stand your ground law that police say justified the shooting. the 2005 law says deadly force is justified if someone believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm. an author of the law said it should not apply in this case. >> there is nothing in this statute that authorizes someone to pursue and confront other people. >> all of that gives little comfort to martin's parents who continue their public plea for justice. this morning on "today." >> i just hurt and my heart

hurts because this guy has not been arrested. they decided on the scene to be the judge and jury. and i just want this guy arrested and so he can be brought to justice. >> reporter: also tonight here, police are saying for the first time that they believe that zimmerman did not confront and pursue martin. that zimmerman had returned to his car and was waiting for police and that martin, the teenager, attacked him. that's why they're sticking to their conclusion that zimmerman acted in self defense. brian? >> ron allen starting us ought in sanford, florida. there's a lot of anger over this case and there's another ang tool the case as well, and it's personal. for a lot of black families across the country, this shoots hits close to home and reenforces a fear that many say they quietly live with maen evey day and have taught their kids about for generations. that part tonight.

>> make sure all of the stuff is out of that back seat. >> wendy ealey walker never met trayvon martin but feels like she knew him well. >> that could be my kid, minding his own business, doing his own think, never thinking anyone would do him harm. >> she's devastated by martin's death and she worries her 14-year-old son could be targeted. >> it makes me angry and very frightened. >> a fear understood by mane in the african-american community where it's common for parents to give their sons rules to live by beginning as a young age. >> my mom told me go with what the cop says, don't argue with them, every time i'm at a public event or a cop sees me on the street. he askss me, where are you supposed f to be, boy? it's not the same treatment they give everyone else. >> one columnist call ed it the burden of black boys in america.

>> you're constantly having to make psychological adjustments to watch the way your hands are moving, to watch your posture, to watch the way that your feet are moving to make sure that you don't make an abrupt movement. that may mean that you have to compromise a bit of your bride, but i want you back home alive. >> while what happened is still aclean, reports of martin's death have sparked outrage across the country. >> is going to be something about this. >> mark tomsis's national show is flooded with calls. >> people have literally called in and cried on air. i have even fought back some of my own tears. >> it's a manifestation of something that you feel that you breathe all the time. that doesn't have a texture or doesn't have a mass but it's very real and always around you like air. >> a painful reminder for so

many black families. >> love you. >> trayvon is not just his mom's kid. he's everyone ps child. >> one 17-year-old's death giving age old fire a new face. >> now we switch to the presidential campaign trail where on the heels of a big win in illinois just last night, mitt romney's campaign found itself once again fending off the damage from a self-inflicted wound. sfi spichkly a quote they would like to have back about now. our report tonight from chuck todd. >> reporter: it was one of the big republican endorsements mitt romney craved, but former florida governor jeb bush's statement in the wake of the illinois win came on paper. now is the time for republicans to unite behind governor romney. and it lacked the enthusiasm and pump that characterized some others. still, bush's signal that romney's nomination is inevitable was exactly the

message team romney hoped would drive the day, but like some other membererable flbs. >> i like being able to fire people. >> i'm not concerned about the poor. >> a gaffe rained on the paw raid. in this case, it was eric fern strm's response to whether his conservative stances in the primaries will hurt him in november. >> you hit a reset button for the fall came pain. it's almost like an etch-a-sketch. >> by lunch time, etch-a-sketch was firal. they had tweeted a caricature inside the toy. soon after, the dnc was out with a video. by afternoon, they were using actual etch-a-sketches as propped. >> to have his communications director say to all of us, if we're dumb enough to nominate him, we should accept by the acceptance speech he'll move back to the left, triggers

everything we're wered about. >> santorum's campaign even sent an aide to hand out etch-a-sketches. >> he brushed away a question before answering some at a hastily called conference. >> a campaign takes on a different profile. the issues i'm running on will be exactly the same. >> you know, while romney did hope to add the words presumptive nominee in front of his name today, the campaign even before etch-a-sketch had one eye on santorum. their daily attack e-mail went out and they have negative adds airing in wisconsin. >> chuck, thanks. overseas, a dramatic standpen off all day long in france where riot police corn cornered the gunman who admits, boasting that he's responsible for killing seven people in three different terror sprees. jim maceda has the latest on the

standoff in toulouse and more on the man who said he wanted to bring the national of france to its knees. >> inside this house in north toulouse, the gunman who allegedalleged ly killed soldiers and civilians, muslims and jews, and outside, hundreds of police hoping to avoid a blood bath. an early morning police raid, the suspect put up stiff resistance. three policemen wounded in gun fire. >> i was with him on the phone, a grenade exploded and he dropped the phone. he must have been terrified. the gunman, 24-year-old mohammed merah want said to talk. he posted about how and why he killed soldiers because they served an occupied afghanistan. his victims, a rabbi and three children, revenge, he swore allegiance to al qaeda and made

several trips to pakistan. home grown and hard core. >> he obviously had done some reconnaissance. he wasn't just going out looking for likely targets. >> but it was his get away scooter like this one that was his undoing. a suspicious motor bike shop keeper tipped off blees after he asked for advice on how to deactivate the tracking device. news that the shooter was cornered brought relief, but there was sadness at the targeted jewish school which opened today. in jerusalem where the four victims were buried, and here in france where the french soldiers were laid to rest. and we have just heard three loud explosions, brian. they could have been stun grenades, flashbacks, or something worse. we have the impression that what we're hearing is that

negotiations are over and the assault on the house and the gunman has truly begun. back to you. >> jim maceda, toulouse france. thanks. >> there's news to report in the investigation into the massacre in afghanistan. allegedly committed by the american staff sergeants and reports that afghan filgers have been offering one theory about what might have motivated his rampage. jim miklaszewski on duty there tonight. >> in another twist to the tragic story, villagers where the shootings took place are now claiming that the 16 civilians were knuned down in retaliation for an ied attack on forces. american cambat troops entered the village and threatened to kill every man and their children for that attack on the americans, but pentagon and military officials said there was no evident of any ied attack at that time and no evidence

that the americans threatened retaluation. officials respect this is enough more than propaganda. at the same time, we're told tonight those charges against the suspect, army staff sergeant robert bales, including 16 counts of murder, are expected at the end of this week. >> jim miklaszewski from the pentagon tonight. thanks, as always. still ahead as "nightly news" continues, ahead of schedule, not always as nice as it looks, though. warm weather is striggering misery for millions of americans. and later, sleepless in a small town. why the people who live there are desperate for the mystery noise to stop. that is better than today. since 1894, ameriprise financial has been working hard for their clients' futures. never taking a bailout. helping generations achieve dreams. buy homes. put their kids through college. retire how they want to. ameriprise. the strength of america's largest financial planning company.

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and the tourists are back. i was born here, i'm still here and so is bp. we have been reported for days on end about the freakish warm weather that has enveloped so much of the country so early in the season like 85 degrees in chicago, but of course, there are downsides, especially for the 60 million americans who suffer from allergies. our report tonight from nbc's chris jansen. >> in atlanta, it's never been this bad. allergies are sending sufferers to the doctors, drivers to the car wash. yesterday, pollen counts broke all records. knl i have never seen anything like this. we're seeing patients coming in with terrible symptoms. >> this machine quantifies pollen in the air, typical this

time of year, a reading of 2000. the new record, dangerously-high, almost 9,400. the same story plying out across huge swaths of the competent un. they're sieeing it in chattano a chattanooga. >> and feeling it in charlotte. >> just really stuffy. >> both have the dubious distinction of being among the worst cities for spring allergies. gorgeous trees like this are among the culprits. first a warm winter now record high warm temperatures which means pollen is released much sooner and much more of it. not all pollen is created equal. pine tree pollen can build up on your car, but far worse is microscopic oak tree pollen. this year, it's affecting patients that have never been affected before, and all this misery can have serious consequences for people with

asthma. this suburbant atlanta school may have just the right idea, closer doors and windows tight to keep the pollen out. experts say common sense like staying indoors and over the counter medications can go a long way. though this year, more of us may need a trip to the doctor because what looks so good can feel really bad. >> up next here tonight, the sports world blows up after what happened today after hard lits. a legendary team is getting hit hard. , jill...mr. jacobson... what's it like driving the fusion hybrid? you can read every system that is operating by pushing a button. it's like driving a computer. what would be the hardest thing for you to give up? the miles per gallon, the fuel. when you're used to filling your car up once a week, then suddenly once every three weeks,

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it's oysternomics 101. you start with a u.s. senator named ben. by helping restore thousands of acres of oyster beds, he kept hundreds of oystermen on the job... which keeps wholesalers in business... and that means more delivery companies... making deliveries to more restaurants... which hire more workers. and that means more oystermen. it's like he's out here with us. he's my friend, ben. i hope he's your friend, too. i'm ben cardin, and i approved this message. in the news tonight. the nfl has come crashing down on one of the great and storied teams of all football, the new orleans saints will pay a heavy price and perhaps for years to come for a system of player bonuses, bounties played to players up to $1,500 for taking an opposing player out of the

game. their coach sean payton has been suspended for a year, they'll lose two draft picks, other coaches will be sidelined, including the general manager, and they'll pay a $500,000 fine. we get reaction from sports illustrated. >> the impact on the saints is going to be enormous. they've gone from kind of america's sweethearts and super bowl champions of two years ago to now the villains of the nfl. they were cheating to a degree. however, here we're looking at players who are paid to go out and do damage on opposing quarterbacks, and we're punishing them for their team paying them to go out and do damage to quarterbacks. yes, it was against to rules to run the bounty system, some purshment should be meted out, but the sure immensity of the penalties show there's more at work. this is a public relations move more than anything, i think. we like to think of football

being a sport of honor. it's a really gray area when you think ability it. when does hitting someone become trying to injure them, however, thaz struck a nerve in the public. it has discredited the nfl, tarnished its imblg, that's why the office came down hard on the saints. >> there were high honored today for a woman who is now the longest serving woman in congressional history, maryland senator barbara mikulski, first elected to the house in 1976, one of 21 women in congress back then, now she's among 91 women in congress. there were some familiar faces at the new york stock exchange this morning, members of the cast of "mad men" loalong with their executives rang the bell. the season resumes on sunday night. for the true "mad men" adicts,

we have a preview and a rare look among the prop department on this station. up next, the town dealing with the mystery noise. [ male announcer ] fighting pepperoni heartburn and pepperoni breath? fight both fast with new tums freshers! concentrated relief that goes to work in seconds and freshens breath. new tums freshers. ♪ tum...tum...tum...tum... tums! ♪ [ male announcer ] fast relief, fresh breath, all in a pocket sized pack.

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finally tonight, a story about a nice place they're calling a boom town, jokingly. the problem is it's not funny. the good people in one town in wisconsin would right now give anything to find out what is making that noise. their story tonight from nbc's kevin tibbles. >> in what used to be sleepily clintonville, wisconsin, something is going boom in the night. >> it was almost like someone took a wrecking ball do the side of the house. >> problem is, no one in the town of 4,600 west of green bay seems to know what it is. >> i thought a car was coming through my house, it was that loud. >> for three nights running, residents have been shaken and awaken. all these dots represent 365 residences reporting booms. >> we have some weird banging going on and our whole house is shaking. >> while it's a serious

situation, in fairness to the citizen, people are trying to have fun with it. >> and the twitter fear reverberated. >> what are the booms in clintville, wisconsin dwlrb i had no idea they were filming the "trembles "remake. >> this may sound familiar. in the 1995 sci-fi spoof, tremors, aliens shake up a town in nevada. >> no richter scale can measure it. >> scientists seem to know what it isn't. it's not an earthquake or underground explosion or exploding gas, or electrical problem or even burping sewer system, and not a frost quake caused by unseasonably warm temperatures. so far, eperts are stumped by what it is. >> their whole lives are being ris dupted why this. >> so tonight, the mystery continues as to why clintonville has become boomtown usa.

>> we'll let you know. that's our broadcast on a wednesday night. thank you for being here with us. hope to see you later tonight for rock center. i'm brian williams, and we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night.