some of the moving tourist attractions here in havana. finally tonight, president obama's visit to this island has deep meaning to many ordinary cubans who until now could only dream of an historic changes unfolding before them. they include a woman in havana o has exchanged letters with the president. and is hoping to thank him personally. >> reporter: in the well used kitchen our her home, she honors cuban tradition making a strong, a practice run perhaps in case her dream guest e ar comes. how many letters have you written to him? >> five. >> reporter: starting in 2008 when barack obama was firut running for president. iliana sat down at her computer to write. >> i just want to ask ou to please lift the embargo. >> reporter: then on election night, 2008. a real rarity in cuba, iliana was able to watch results on television and report back to her family. i heard you opened a very expensive bottle of champagne? is it true? >> it is. >> reporter: and she wrote more letters. >> mr. president -- >> reporter: in her last one a thank you for

president obama in havana symbolically opening anigh era in u.s. relations with cuba as some carry on the fight against a still repressive regime. >>> trail of violence at donald trump's campaign events. we speak to a protester who found himself being punched and kicked. >>> distracted driving may have caused a crash that toppled a school bus carrying a high school basketball team. remarkably everyone survived. >>> and, dear, mr. president, one woman's letter from havana gets a response from president obama. now, she hopes he will stop by for a thank you and a coffee. "nightly news" begins right now. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt reporting tonight from havana. >>> good evening from a rainy havana, behind me the museum of the revolution. just a few hours ago this communist nation welcomed president obama who is stepping on to cuban soil under a falling rain became the first american president to visit here in 88 years. as part of his two-day trip, the president will meet with cuban leader raul castro and make an address t

. >>> good evening from a rainy havana. behind me, the museum of the revolution. just a few hours ago this communist nation welcomed president obama who is stepping onto cuban soil under falling rain became the first american president to visit here in 88 years. as part of his two-day trip, the president will meet with cuban leader raul castro and make an address to the cuban people hoping to further nudge open the doors of travel and commerce eight months after the two nations re-established delictis. there are years of mistrust to unravel and an american economic embargo still in place. chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell joins me with more on today. andrea. >> good evening, lester. what a day it has been. president obama has been working towards this day for years. an historic presidential visit he hopes will make his opening to cuba a major part of his legacy. >> reporter: in driving rain, president obama touched down in havana, hoping to cement his high-stakes cuba diplomacy with a rare personal touch.

. >>> good evening from a rainy havana. behind me, the museum of the revolution. just a few hours ago this communist nation welcomed president obama who is stepping

from havana, cuba, i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. ♪the rm." rs :03==je/vo==righte >>> you know, it's difficult to ignore the elephant in the room. >> right now at 6:00, apple's new gadget is up staged by the fight with the fbi and late word tonight, the government may not need apple's help after all. good evening and thanks for joiningicaingjessica. >> i'm raj mathai. the government says it may not need that key to hack a terrorist locked iphone. nbc business and tech reporter scott budman has been tracking the late, breaking developments. scott, pretty interesting twist here. >> reporter: yeah, raj, what a day. it started with apple trying to put the focus on its new lineup of consumer products and ended with the focus entirely on the fbi's claim it may be able to hack into an apple iphone. [ applause ] >> good morning. >> reporter: apple ceo tim cook got the biggest cheers of the day not for a new product, although, we did see new products but because he quickly ad

it's a huge deal for me. >> in ballparks and havana. junior, you play every day? >> yeah. >> passion for the sport runs deep, often driven by a shot at the majors. what's your favorite team? >> yankees. >> we love baseball since we are little boys. we, you know, watch baseball on tv and we listen to radio and people play baseball and it's part of our tradition already, you know. >> there are currently around 18 players in major league baseball. until now defecting was the most common route to the majors, but the u.s. has announced changes that could soon provide a legal path for american teammates to directly sign cuban players, putting the next generation of cuban athletes on a whole new playing field. >> we'll great some day, cuban players can play in the major league baseball but legally. >> do you think he'll make it to the major leagues? >> maybe, i hope so. coached by his father, says when his time comes he'll be ready. >> how good are you? >> really good, yeah. >> one local baseball expert told us there are 11 million people living in this country, and the

that's going to do it for us on a monday night from havana, cuba. i'm lester holt. news, t >>> kim kardashian unveils her post baby weight loss at the ultimate it girl party. >> now on "extra" from universal orlando resort. >>> kim kardashian showing off her body after baby as she parties with j-lo, kate hudson, and lady gaga. >> i don't get let in everywhere, so this is really wonderful. >> plus, gaga's man taylor kinney with the latest on their wedding plans.

that's going to do it for us on a monday night from havana, cuba. for all of us at nbc >>> causing a little bit of controversy want to get clear right now. this back tattoo, real, fake? >> much ado about that tattoo. and let's see if ben's answer i'm billy bush. this we know for sure, that man's got a not so secret past. >> seems like i went done a bet are avenue.

. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt reporting tonight from havana. >>> good evening. it has been a day rich in historic symbolism, brass tacks diplomacy and a silver anniversary of raising half a century of mistrust will be tough. president obama met face-to-face on cuban soil with 48-year-old president raug castro. the first meeting on cuban soil since diplomatic ties were re-established. afterwards they emerged for what turned out to be a tense give and take with the press, ending with this awkward clasping of the hands relationship is still very much a work in progress. our andrea mitchell was among the few called on at the press conference and joins me now. it was uncomfortable to watch this. >> reporter: it's uncomfortable and it's clear raul castros does not do press conferences. that's was part of it. the two leaders agreed to disagree on the u.s. and cuba, chiefly the u.s. trade embargo which president obama would like to end and cuba's treatment of dissidents, testing the boundaries of a new relationship. it was a day of historic firsts. the handshake on cub

. >>> we are back in a moment with another historic night in havana. this time it's the rolling stones in town. >>> it is a tale that shakespeare himself might have written. whether grave robbers raided the tomb of the greater writer in the english language. yes, shakespeare's tomb. there is no scientific evidence to be presented tomorrow in a british tv program. kerry sanders tonight with more on this new chapter. >> reporter: all the world's a stage, and now four centuries after william spakz spear's death, a mystery worthy of a five-act play. did a grave robber steal shakespeare's skull? without disturbing his remains, british researchers explording age old rumors about the playwright used underground penetrating radar to look deep inside his grave at trinity church in england. where his skull should be, they found -- >> it looks like a big black hole. >> reporter: but the engraving on his head stone could be prophetic. blessed be the man that spares these stones, and cursed be he that moves my bones. as you may remember from high school english cla

. >>> if president obama received a rock star's welcome in havana this week cubans are getting the real thing tonight as the rolling stones take to the stage in an historic concert. their music was once banned as subversive by the communist regime, but tonight hundreds of thousandsch people are expected to attend the free concert at a sports complex in havana. cuban fans of the stones finally getting some satisfaction. >>> next, how people of many faiths on one american street united ever insurance policy has a number. but not every insurance company behind it. for those who've served and the families that have supported them, we offer our best service in return. usaa. we know what it means to serve. get an insurance quote and see why 92% of our members plan to stay for life. when my doctor told me i have age-related macular degeneration, amd we came up with a plan to help reduce my risk of progression. and everywhere i look... i'm reminded to stick to my plan. including preservision areds 2. my doctor said preservision areds 2 has the exact nutrient formula that the national eye instit

. >>> president barack obama began his historic remarks here in havana with a tribute to a fallen u.s. marine. staff sergeant louis carden was killed in an isis rocket attack in iraq on saturday. he was 27 and on the fourth deployment of his decade-long career. >>> tonight a top tennis official is under fire over comments about what he called lady players saying they should get down on their knees and be hankful for men. serena williams is leading the charge against what he said. next's steve patterson has more. >> today top tennis in the spotlight. first round of play at the miami open and the tennis world is distracted after controversial sexist comments by california raymond word. >> in my next live when i come back i want to be someone in the wta because they ride on the coattails of the men, they don't make any decision and they're lucky. they are very, very >> moore told reporters male stars have carried the sport. >> if i was a lady player, i'd go evy ght y ndhank redernd orr: t' em pr na quklyoohe w have lo w ae sht h drop tonees a poin epoo rpologized i it stament quote, mnt

andrea mitchell, nbc news, havana. >> reporter: i'm hallie jackson, the images from brussels, like paris and san bernardino before, now bringing into focus the dramatic differences between the party's front-runners. >> i would close up our borders to people until we figure out what is going on. >> i think there are a lot of things we have to do to intensify our efforts. i think closing our borders is not one of them. >> reporter: for hillary clinton, a chance to prove her national security credentials. opportunity to seem more presidential one day after calling for controversial cuts to nato based in brussels. >> puts a huge amount of uncertainty into the system and at exactly the moment where we need intensified cooperation. >> reporter: trump, hoping to project strength, even where his opponents see weakness like ted cruz, taking his own hardline stance, a striking one, demanding police patrol and, quote, secure neighborhoods of american muslims. >> anywhere where there's a locust of radicalization, where there's an expanding presence of radical islamic terrorism, we need law enforceme

winding down in little havana. block party took over southwest 8th street@ for the 39th time. hosted 2 million locals making this the biggest hispanic street festival in the united states. a sclans tochance how to hear the sound and cuisine. and marks the end of carnival miami. >>> women of tomorrow scholarshippand mentoring program. marking 15th year with a ritzy gala last night. hundreds turned out for the annual event at the mandarin hotel. the program was started at nbc 6 alalst 19 years ago. the goal to raise thousand for at risk garlz cross south florida. >> so we have given out almost $5 million in college scholarships. year. i mean it's -- it any just amazing. >> nbc 6 trina robertson, and more, attended the event. helps girls fulfill theirreaea of getting a college education. great work there. >> all right, this is. we're in march. probably the most unproductive month of the year at work. >> yeah, especially this coming week. the brackets are out. pool going in here. haven't seen that. little bit. >> get that action going. >> all right. >> i dent know how thatncaa bas

. >>> lester holt will report from havana tomorrow. that's nbc newt"nbc nightly news." for all of us here at good night. >>are tir ai idalads? we aa a whilthe titose'llot at hapd at mnsnoh liits tonigh e re itimto g t co w > goevening m le sitngin da abtr. % ca cot ithis ek a lileigr 20 nui as as tobawemea ary ek hoalthoss bre doty. 's

lester holt will be reporting from havana tomorrow on president obama's historic trip to cuba. that's "nbc nightly news" for this saturday. i'm jose diaz-balart reporting from new york. thank you for the privilege of your time. for all of us here at nbc news, thanks for watching. good night. >>> a big, black puffy smoke coming out. >> a fire at a south way walmart store while customers are shopping inside. live, what's happened and what's being done to clean up the damage. >>> good evening. thank you for joining us. i'm peggy bunker. we begin with a developing story in the south bay. shoppers and workers forced to evacuate as flames shoot out from the roof. firefighters still on the scene cleaning up. joining us from the store, mary ann, sounds like investigators are targeted solar panels as possible cause? >> reporter: i can tell you that employees say that it does appear the fire started on the solar panels on top of the roof. firefighters are still investigating. more than 100 customers and employees were forced to evacuate, and right now you can see that many employees are

. >>> lester holt will report from havana tomorrow. that's nbc newt"nbc nightly news." for all of us here at good night. this is "jeopardy!" let's meet today's contestants -- an operations manager from orlando, florida... an urban planner from providence, rhode island... and our returning champion, a college instructor from squamish, british columbia, canada... and now here is the host of "jeopardy!" -- alex trebek! thank you, johnny. thank you, ladies and gentlemen. let's start out today by talking about taxes. somebody in our studio audience was asking me about that the other day. the players win money on "jeopardy!" and only california state taxes are deducted,

. >>> lester holt will report from havana tomorrow. that's nbc newt "nbc nightly news." for all of us here at nbc news, thanks for watching. >>> this weekend on "extra," the stars who make us cheer. the stars who make us smile. the stars we love. >> extra extra. >> it's j-law raw. on? >> from her shoot from the hip humor to her life as a single celebrity. >> guys might find you a little intimidating.

. >>> lester holt will report from havana tomorrow. that's nbc newt "nbc nightly news." for all of us here at nbc news, thanks for watching. . - from the moment your kids are born, you dread the fact that one day they'll leave you. and then they do, and it's just as bad as you thought it'd be. i just want you to remember that you're special, and you'll always be - two forms of birth control. and men are like basketball players-- they dribble before they shoot. - martina! - it's reality, mike. - bye. - i'll miss you. - bye, dad. - love you, kid. - love you. we know what it's like. the next one will be easier. [crying]

. >>> lester holt will report fbom havana tomorrow. that's nbc newt"nbc nightly news." for all of us here at good night. >> announcer: the following program is sponsored by operation smile. every three minutes, a child is born with cleft lip in many countries, they can't get the surgery they need. >> interpreter: people say he was born like a monster. we have prayed for this moment to happen. he's gorgeous, precious -- very precious. no one is going to recognize him at home. >> interpreter: she's ashamed because people laugh at her. >> interpreter: when she cries like this, it hurts me in my heart. >> interpreter: i'm very happy to see her so beautifully fixed. >> interpreter: we will celebrate as if we had a newborn baby. >> interpreter: when they make fun of him, i feel so bad. this is my son. i am so happy because he is now ay. my son's lip is fixed. >> imagine if yoururhild were born with a cleft lip or cleft palatend you were too poor to you'd feel helpless, left to watch your child grow up rejected and bullied that's the heartbreaking reality for parents in the wo

. ♪ >>> the scene last night in cuba as the rolling stones took the stage for a free concert i havana and made history. they played to a crowd of several hundred thousand people who had converged on a sports column. mick jagger declared times are changing. for decades the communist regime saw bands like the stones are dangerously subversive and banned their music on radio and tv. >>> with baseball season about to get under way, the final days of spring training are all about bonding and getting the players in the right frame of mind. so chicago cubs manager joe madden decided a little time with some cubs might be a good thing. the tiny bears were brought into the training camp in arizona and as you can see, they proved to be a real hit. >>> another ritual of spring, the cherry blossoms are in all their glory this weekend in washington. the national cherry blossom festival kicking off today. the event drawing about a million and a half people each year. beautiful. >>> when we come back, the forced her into hiding but couldn't take away her art or her hope. i had so many thoughts once i

. >>> lester holt will report from havana tomorrow on president obama's trip to cuba. >>> that's "nbc nightly news" for this saturday. thank you for the privilege of your time. for all of us here at nbc news, thanks for watching. i'm sara gore. and this is open house. right now, we'ght re shining the spotli on a growing design trend, decor inspired by nature. we are in new djersey where a homeowner transforme his abode into an exotic estate, sparked by his passion for africa. and we tour a calis createdfornia home where the owner om recycled and sa lv an eclectic space made largely fraged materials. nd plus, tara lipinski tells us how a life on an is la insputhern sanctuary.ired the color palette for her so but first, bring the outdoors in at this retreat in malibu. it's impossible to have a bad day when you wake up in a master suite just like this.]

. >>> lester holt will report from havana tomorrow. that's nbc ne"nbc nightly news." for all of us here at nbc news, thanks for watching. good night. >>> is tori signing up for real housewives and are more babies on the way for her and dean? and jamie lynn sigler feeling relief after announcing she has ms. i'm liz hernandez. we start off with scott and our interview with mariah carey. >> her fiancee proposed with a massive ring and now she is set to begin her second stint in vegas this summer. it is in her suite where i had a one-on-one with mariah. >> did you know it was coming in. >> darling, you can't know when it is coming. you have to receive it with pride and happiness. >> for me, i can't imagine wearing that on my finger. >> walking through a crowd wearing a ring on your finger and a lot of bracelets is a bit daunting. it is hard to take it off because i love it so much. >> i hear that. i hear that. >> that diamond ring is 35 carats. that is more than

. >>> lester holt will report from havana tomorrow. that's nbc newt "nbc nightly news." for all of us here at nbc news, thanks for watching. [theme music] >>> hi, i'm andy. >> i'm a new york city police officer. >> and i'm a project add mrtder and we're in our home in wood haven. the family, we'll st?rt, i have