Tonight in the first day of the conclave, no pope yet. The world's eyes locked on that chimney as black smoke emerges after the first vote. The next time we will see the College of Cardinals, the Catholic Church, will have a new pontiff. The doors closing as they settle in for the long haul. In anticipation, 30,000 people descended on St. Peter's Square by reporting with our team

at the Vatican. Acquitted on all charges, three former Memphis police officers on trial for the

death of Tyree Nichols cleared on state charges why they could still face years in prison.

The new student protests at Columbia University scuffles overtaking the main

campus library. We're there. Two nuclear nations, India and Pakistan, on the brink over Kashmir,

India launching a military operation on what it called terrorist sites, Pakistan saying it shot down

Indian airplanes.

Our new reporting, why some detainees may be sent on a military flight to Libya, the

lawsuit to stop it just ahead.

The high-stakes talks over tariffs, the U.S. and China now set to meet amid the ongoing

trade war as shipmen slow.

The manhunt for a murder suspect while his trial is supposed to be underway, a cutoff ankle

monitor and cell phones found.

And the butterfly effect, why these extinct beauties are getting a shot at flight again.

This is NBC Nightly News, the papal conclave.

Reporting tonight from the Vatican, here is Lester Holt.

Good evening and welcome.

Rome held its collective breath tonight, hoping and praying that the night would bring

a new pope.

Instead, it brought a steady

plume of black smoke that poured from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, reminding all the process

of electing a new leader of the Catholic Church would not be an easy one. The conclave to replace

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