\ on this friday night, on the loose. the manhunt charges forward after two police officers were shot in ferguson. tonight, the embattled mayor joins us and reveals what it would take for him to step aside. from the deep, wreckage from that u.s. chopper crash is pulled from the gulf of mexico as we learn more about the 11 service members who lost their lives onboard. out of sight. rumors swirling about vladimir putin after he drops out of the public eye for a week. is he sick or is something else going on? and the new avenger, iron man gets a side kick and the job comes with a very cool upgrade. "nightly news" begins now. from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news."

reporting tonight lester holt. good evening. with a shooter of two police officers still out there, every nightfall brings growing anxiety to the streets of ferguson, missouri. ferguson already is in upheaval amid cries of change in the abrupt firing of officials including the chief of police. the shooting yesterday morning came as the city was still grappling with how to fully respond to pattern of police bias towards the city's poor and minority residents. in a moment my conversation with the mayor of ferguson and his answer to those who want him to step down. let's begin here with ron allen in ferguson. >> reporter: for a second day a huge police manhunt. an exhaustive search for a gunman accused of targeting a line of police at that demonstration this week. >> i cannot tell you at this point an arrest is eminent. there's certainly nobody in custody. >> reporter: the two officers recovering at home today, one with a bullet still lodged behind his ear. president obama spoke out last night.

>> whoever fired those shots shouldn't detract from the issue. they're criminals. >> reporter: overnight protesters and now missouri state and st. louis county police kept their distance. >> hands up! >> reporter: among the demand, dismantle the entire ferguson police force. others want the mayor gone. since the justice department began investigating ferguson, six city employees, the police chief, city manager have left. every police officer has had mandatory diversity training. and court reforms are underway. some fees and fines eliminated, seen as targeting the poor. leslie bell sees himself as the kind of change ferguson needs. the son of a cop and himself a law professor. he's one of four african-american candidates for city council in april. changing the number up to just one. how important is it there be more diversity on the council? >> i think it's very important. i think when we work together,

when we get to know one another we reach better understandings. >> reporter: through it all a high school senior with offers from universities like howard and moorehouse still sees his future here. you would? >> the movement will always live. this is not a moment. this is a movement. ferguson is a movement. >> reporter: tonight he says he'll be out there marching in the streets. adding to the tension police investigating the ambush that happened out here say it's still unclear whether the gunman was someone involved with the protest or an outside agitator. as demands continue for a complete overhaul of the city of ferguson. lester. >> all right, ron. thank you. before we came on the air this evening i spoke with ferguson mayor james knowles. i began by asking him about the emotional climate in his city right now. >> well, you know, we've gone through a lot over the last six or seven months. and we've been working very hard to try to bring this community together. i think unfortunately the events of the other night is going to start hopefully -- unfortunately

i think create a climate that is going to be difficult to get past. >> has this shaken your resolve to stay in office despite the many calls for your resignation? >> no, i mean, i get continued support from a lot of residents. i hear it from phone calls, e-mails, facebook, people who want me to stay in office. i mean, obviously there's always going to be people who are against you. and those people have been vocal out there. but, you know, there's ways for them to remove me if they so choose. >> do you agree with the conclusion that there was a pattern of bias within the police department? >> i don't think that the individual officers were out there looking to affect african-americans any differently than they were white americans. i think you probably -- we've seen that there's been some bad apples out there. i don't think that that is indicative of the entire police department. >> you've decided you don't want to resign. would you embrace a recall election to put this behind you once and for all? >> i think that's just another

setback for the community. i mean, if that's what a majority of the community wants, then that's fine. unfortunately the events of the other night only serve to divide the community. a recall election will only serve to divide the community. but if that is the will of the people, then so be it. but right now i'm focused on moving this community forward. >> my conversation earlier with ferguson mayor james knowles. tonight, a salvage operation is underway at the site of that black hawk helicopter crash off florida that killed 11 u.s. service members. seven of those killed were u.s. marines and they were identified today. our report tonight from nbc's mark potter. >> reporter: a salvage barge hired by the u.s. army arrived at the crash scene early this afternoon and didn't take long before it began pulling up the twisted wreckage of the downed black hawk helicopter from santa rosa bay. first to be seen the blades of the chopper. complicating the recovery is that the bodies of two members of the louisiana national guard flight crew were still trapped

inside. today, the u.s. marine corps released the names of its seven special operations combat veterans who died in the training accident. they include master sergeant thomas saunders from williamsburg, virginia who served in kosovo, afghanistan and iraq. and staff sergeants marcus bawol and trevor blaylock. both from michigan. >> our thoughts and prayers with the marines, soldiers, their family and friends as we all mourn that tragic loss of life. >> reporter: also killed in the accident staff sergeant andrew seif from holland, michigan. he was the 2013 marine of the year and awarded the military's third highest decoration for valor. captain stanford shaw from new jersey was his high school student government president and served two tours of duty in iraq. and staff sergeant kerry kemp from washington, and staff sergeant flynn from new york

both decorated from combat service and proud fathers of baby girls. the names of the four army victims have not yet been released. and as you can see out there in the distance, the salvage efforts to raise that chopper is still underway. in fact, moments ago they brought a big piece of that chopper and put it on that barge. this effort is expected to go into the night weather permitting. lester. >> mark potter tonight, thank you, mark. a newly hired attorney for the fraternity kicked off the university of oklahoma campus as some members are receiving death threats. now the chapter is considering suing the school in a bid to unsully its name after some members were caught on tape chanting racial slurs. we get a lot more now from nbc's gabe gutierrez who's on the campus. >> reporter: for days the racist chant has been widely condemned. today the university of oklahoma sigma alpha epsilon chapter fought back. >> we need to avoid a rush to judgment. >> reporter: its alumni hired high profile attorney steven jones who represented timothy mcveigh in the oklahoma city

bombing trial. after the video became public university president quickly denounced the fraternity. >> real sooners are not bigots. they're not racists. there is zero tolerance for this kind of racist and behavior. we don't want to be defined by those who completely violate our values. >> reporter: some experts question whether a public institution expelling the two students is legal. >> the first amendment protects all ideas, including really evil ideas. >> reporter: sae's national headquarters says it sports the stance that ou has taken. and it's moving forward with plans to revoke the membership of all suspended members here permanently. sae's under fire across the country. its headquarters is investigating allegations of racism including at louisiana tech university. >> the sentiment that it may be embedded in the national organization is absurd. >> reporter: but members like this in mississippi say that's not what sae represents. >> the easy thing to do is to judge a large population by the

actions of a few. >> reporter: tonight at ou the local sae chapter is not ruling out a lawsuit at the outreach from this video stretches on. gabe gutierrez, nbc news, norman, oklahoma. we've gathered new information about the car crash at the white house involving two secret service agents allegedly after a night of drinking. we've learned the president wasn't told about it until quite long after the fact. now some lawmakers are questioning the leadership of director joseph clancy who was brought in to restore the agency's reputation. we get more on it from nbc's kristen welker. >> reporter: it took five days for president obama to be told that two top secret service agents, mark connolly and george ogilvie allegedly drove into a active bomb investigation outside the white house last wednesday. >> there's no excuse for a breach this serious on the grounds themselves. >> reporter: the congressional

committee that overseas the service is demanding directors from joseph clancy next week. including why an unnamed supervisor allegedly allowed the two agents to go home without undergoing field sobriety testing, as was recommended by other officers at the scene. the two senior agents have been reassigned and have not responded to requests for comment. >> these instances are starting to pile up and starting to have accumulative effect on morale. >> reporter: clancy a 27-year secret service veteran was tapped to lead the agency after a series of embarrassing incidents including last year's fence jumper who forced his way all the way inside the white house. >> can he make the tough decisions with people who have been his colleagues for 20, 30 years? or can he not? and so this is going to be his big test. >> reporter: and today the man who jumped over this fence last september, omar gonzalez, pleaded guilty to two federal charges. he'll be sentenced in june. kristen welker, nbc news, the white house. well, the big thaw that many of us have hoped for is finally under way, except it means flood

advisories are in effect from mississippi to new york as frozen waterways begin to melt. on land there's another hazard as millions of motorists are finding out. we get more on this tonight from nbc's ron mott. >> reporter: in the middle of lake erie, the coast guard is slicing through thick ice to prevent flooding the three large rivers there. >> thickest ice we encountered today was probably approximately 20 feet above the surface of the lake and 15 feet below the surface of the lake. >> reporter: near cleveland it's too late. >> it came inside my house about three feet in my house. >> reporter: some ohio rivers are spilling onto streets. millions of people from buffalo to biloxi are under flood advisories. and here in boston closing in on an all-time record for snow, giant dirty piles like that are reminders of a tough winter. but now that most of it has melted off the roads, new hazards have emerged, potholes. they come in all sizes from mere

bumps to bone jarring jolts. and it can be a pain in the wallet too. business is picking up at gary sack's tire shop. >> broken rims, suspension issues, exhaust issues from bottoming out. >> reporter: the cost of potholes? $6.4 billion last year alone. back in cleveland the pothole killer is on the loose. a one-stop patch shop. 90 seconds from start to finish. near baltimore along busy i-95, 100 potholes a night are being filled as temperatures warm up. out west potentially record heat for southern california into the 90s. >> gearing up for a big weekend this weekend. >> reporter: technically still a week of winter left. ron mott, nbc news, boston. overseas now, there is no shortage of controversy surrounding vladimir putin. the crisis in ukraine, a crumbling economy, a recent murder of a top dissident. now add to all that a mystery. he hasn't been seen publicly for more than a week. where is he?

nbc's keir simmons is on the hunt. >> reporter: this is the last time vladimir putin was seen in public, last thursday with italy's prime minister. a planned visit to kazakhstan this week was canceled without explanation. trending today, the hash tag, #whereisputin. he likes to flaunt his health, famously appearing shirtless on horseback. has the 62-year-old leader fallen ill. >> there's no doubts to his health. his health is really perfect and everything is okay with him. >> reporter: the kremlin own website has been reportedly misleading showing putin in a meeting it said happened wednesday when really it took place a week earlier. the president's vanishing act has triggered some wild speculation that he went to switzerland for the birth of his girlfriend's baby. some ukrainian children even drew pictures of the russian president abducted by aliens. it all reminds some people of

the soviet era when kremlinologists searched the clues about public appearances. today, friday the 13th, the kremlin released pictures of putin it said were taken today. but doubters pointed out the meeting was not public and not shown live. privately u.s. officials tell nbc news putin may be under the weather. the mystery may be solved monday in st. petersburg where putin is due to appear in public. keir simmons, nbc news, london. pope francis marked this second anniversary of his election today with the prediction about his tenure. the pope celebrated mass at st. peter's basilica and also heard confessions from the faithful. in an interview he said he thinks his time as pope will be short, perhaps four or five years. he also said that while he doesn't mind being pope, he misses going out in rome unrecognized for a pizza. still ahead tonight, they can't make it on their own. but suddenly they're washing up

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scooped up another starving sea lion today. this is skinny for a sea lion. >> very skinny. probably 50, 60 pounds light. >> reporter: one of hundreds of pups he's helped so far this season. >> it's kind of overwhelming. we're going all day. calls at 3:00 in the morning, 4:00 in the morning. >> reporter: the pups are washing up onshore in record breaking numbers, emaciated and dehydrated. like lucy who looked like this when she was rescued and now looks like this. typically about 60 sea lions are stranded in california in january and february. this year it's skyrocketed to more than 1,200. >> this is the most sea lions i've rescued in 30 years. >> reporter: it's gotten so bad sea world announced this week it's suspending its sea lion show so trainers can help with rescue missions, which can get emotional. >> this week as i see the commitment every day. >> reporter: the sea lion pups usually stay on the channel islands off california's coast, but scientists think warmer waters forcing their mothers

deeper into the ocean to look for food leaving the babies to fend for themselves. >> they ended up on our beaches skinny and cold and looking for space. >> reporter: problem is rehab facilities are filling up too fast. the sickest and weakest nursed back to help at shelters. and eventually, hopefully, released back into the wild. that's the first priority for rescuers. and for the pups a second chance for survival. hallie jackson, nbc news, santa monica. >> here's to those coming to their rescue. when we come back no time to waste, skiers dig through the snow to find a friend trapped in an avalanche. ind a friend trapped in an avalanche. oh yea, that's coming down let's get some rocks, man. health can change in a minute.

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land formation, which was created only months ago by eruptions from an underwater volcano. it's considered very unstable and may not stay together for long. from europe scenes of a dramatic rescue after an australian skier became trapped in an avalanche. it was all captured by a gopro camera worn by one of his it was a frantic search. then once located the frantic effort to dig him out of the snow. the trapped skier described a wall of powder and said he thought he was going to die. he was buried for about an hour until his friends finally reached him and brought him out of the snow alive. anyone who's taken a walk down the aisle knows weddings don't come cheap. according to the website the knot, the average cost last year was more than $31,000. that's a new all-time high. the least expensive place to get married, utah around $15,000. the most expensive not surprisingly right here in manhattan, but listen to this number $76,000 for a manhattan wedding, honeymoon not included.

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they don't always look like we might expect. sometimes all it takes is a desire to help someone else like the nonprofit group that just changed a little boy's life with a little help from iron man himself. nbc's stephanie gosk has the story. >> reporter: all alex knew was that he was getting a bionic arm. >> we're looking for 912. >> reporter: the 7-year-old was born with a partially developed right arm. he was greeted by robert downey jr. >> hey, alex. how are you? pleasure to meet you. >> reporter: but if you are a 7 -year-old, this isn't robert downey jr., this is tony stark, the genius inventor who turns into superhero iron man. >> do you know who that is? >> iron man. >> reporter: only fitting given the delivery. >> it's even cooler than i thought. i'm having a technical glitch, as you can see my light isn't working.

keep working on it kind of like you're working on it. >> it keeps working and working until he gets it right. >> reporter: albert is a ph.d. in engineering and an actual superhero. he and a team of students at the university of central florida developed the arm using 3d printing technology. and they give them to kids for free. most prosthetics cost tens of thousands. the price tag for this arm is in the hundreds. >> our whole team has been so impacted just seeing the emotion and being able to actually help someone with engineering as opposed to working with old machines. >> reporter: alex's mom says the change in her son, in his confidence, was instant. >> there are really no words for that. like all you can say is just thank you. >> reporter: downey posted the video as part of a charity campaign to spotlight student innovation. and he's secured iron man's awesomeness in the mind of at least one little boy. >> i think of him as the greatest guy ever. >> reporter: and a moment alex won't soon forget. >> bang, nailed it. >> reporter: stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. >> what a great moment that was. a great way to finish things up

for us on a friday night. we're glad you've been here. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. news, thank you for watching and good night.

lights camera access. kathy quits "fashion police." i'm billy bush.