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  • First American to receive face transplant marries burn victim; they see relationship as one of hope

    Ian C. Bates / The Dallas Morning News via Reuters

    Dallas Wiens and Jamie Nash pose for pictures after getting married at Ridglea Baptist Church in Forth Worth, Texas, March 30, 2013. Wiens was the first American to receive a full face transplant after accidentally touching a high voltage wire while on a construction job and met Nash at a burn victim support group at Parkland Memorial Hospital after Nash had been in a bad car accident that left her with severe burns throughout her body.

    Ian C. Bates / The Dallas Morning News via Reuters

    By Elvira Sakmari and Scott Gordon, NBCDFW.com

    The couple plans to put their pasts behind them.

    "There's no reason to dwell on the past," he said.

    "It's dead and gone," she added. "It burned in the fire."

    They said they make the perfect couple and help balance each other.

    Her hands, for example, were severely injured in her accident. His are fine.

    She can see. He lost his eyesight in the accident.

    "It's a story of hope, a story of true survivors," Nash said. "I mean, if we can do it, I guarantee you, anybody out there -- we all have a story. We're all going through something. And I want to give everybody hope."

    Read the full story.

    Vera Crosby, photography by Vera

    Ian C. Bates / The Dallas Morning News via Reuters

    Wiens and Nash have their first dance after getting married.

    Ian C. Bates / The Dallas Morning News via Reuters

    Wiens and Nash cut their wedding cake.

     

  • Louisville player after horrific injury: 'Don't worry about me. I'll be OK. You guys go win this thing'

    Jeff Haynes / Reuters

    Louisville Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino calls to the referees to stop the game as Cardinals guard Kevin Ware lays on the court with a broken leg in the first half against the Duke Blue Devils during their Midwest Regional NCAA men's basketball game in Indianapolis, Indiana, on March 31, 2013.

    Darron Cummings / AP

    Louisville players talk to guard Kevin Ware after Ware's injury during the first half of the Midwest Regional Final against Duke in the NCAA basketball tournament March 31 in Indianapolis, Ind.

    By Rob Dauster, CollegeBasketballTalk on NBCSports.com

    Kevin Ware was taken off the court on a stretcher in the first half of Louisville’s regional final against Duke on Sunday afternoon after suffering the worst injury I’ve ever seen in a sporting event.

    After challenging a three that Tyler Thornton took from the wing, he landed wrong on his right leg and suffered a compound fracture. His shin bone was protruding through his skin.

    Read the full story.

    Andy Lyons / Getty Images

    Wayne Blackshear #20 and Chane Behanan #21 of the Louisville Cardinals react after Kevin Ware #5 suffered a compound fracture to his leg in the first half against the Duke Blue Devils during the Midwest Regional Final round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 31, 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

    This story was originally published on

  • Swiss-born WWII spy is honored with Arlington burial

    Jacquelyn Martin / AP

    Savana Joyeuse, granddaughter of Dr. Rene Joyeuse, and other family members attend Joyeuse's burial service at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., March 29.

    Jacquelyn Martin / AP

    The family of Dr. Rene Joyeuse attend his burial service at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., March 29. In the wheelchair is Joyeuse' widow, Suzanne Joyeuse, with their son's Marc Joyeuse, and Remi Joyeuse, right.

    Jacquelyn Martin / AP

    The remains of Dr. Rene Joyeuse, of Saranac Lake, New York, a decorated Swiss-born WWII spy, during burial services at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., March 29.

    By Chris Carola / Associated Press 

    When Dr. Rene Joyeuse's request for burial at Arlington National Cemetery was rejected, the family of the decorated Swiss-born World War II spy launched a campaign to get the decision reversed. Months later, Joyeuse is getting his wish, thanks in part to the involvement of the nation's top covert operators, including CIA Director David Petraeus.

    Before resigning amid a sex scandal last November, Petraeus played a key role in convincing Pentagon officials that Joyeuse, a retired doctor from upstate New York, deserved to lie in rest among some of America's greatest military heroes, people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

    "It got attention at the highest levels, very high up. That's how important he (Joyeuse) was," said Charles Pinck, president of the OSS Society, whose membership includes a dwindling number of veterans of the Office of Strategic Services, the nation's World War II intelligence agency and forerunner of the CIA.  Continue reading.

     

  • From Pakistan to Poland to the Brooklyn Bridge, Christians around the world celebrate Good Friday

    Dan Kitwood / Getty Images

    Pope Francis prays on the floor during a Papal Mass with the Celebration of the Lord's Passion inside St Peter's Basilica on March 29, 2013 in Vatican City, Vatican. Pope Francis is taking part in his first holy week as pontiff and will later today preside over the Way Of the Cross procession at the Colosseum in Rome.

    Sebastian Scheiner / AP

    Christian worshippers carry a cross towards the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, traditionally believed by many to be the site of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, during the Good Friday procession in Jerusalem's Old City, Friday, March 29, 2013. Less than 2 percent of the population of Israel and the Palestinian territories is Christian, mostly split between Catholicism and Orthodox streams of Christianity. Christians in the West Bank wanting to attend services in Jerusalem must obtain permission from Israeli authorities. Israel's Tourism Ministry said it expects some 150,000 visitors in Israel during Easter week and the Jewish festival of Passover, which coincide this year.

    Kai Pfaffenbach / Reuters

    Members of the Italian community take part in a re-enactment of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday in Bensheim, southwest of Frankfurt March 29, 2013. Thousands of spectators watched the yearly Passion Play performed by about 100 laity actors. Holy Week is celebrated in many Christian traditions during the week before Easter.

    Kacper Pempel / Reuters

    Polish catholic devotees re-enact out the "Way of the Cross" on Good Friday as part of Holy Week celebrations at the Kalwaria Wejherowska near Gdansk, northern Poland March 29, 2013. Holy Week is celebrated in many Christian traditions during the week before Easter.

    Muhammed Muheisen / AP

    An elderly Pakistani Christian man, prays during a Mass on Good Friday in a church in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, March 29, 2013. Christians around the world are marking the Easter holy week.

    Eduardo Munoz / Reuters

    Frank Simmonds, of the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn, carries a cross on the Brooklyn Bridge during the 18th annual 'Way of the Cross Over the Brooklyn Bridge Ceremony' in New York March 29, 2013. The ceremony, hosted yearly on the Christian holy day of Good Friday, includes walking from St. James Cathedral, over the Brooklyn Bridge to St. Peter's Church, in Manhattan. The event attracts approximately 2,000 people each year.

    Joel Saget / AFP - Getty Images

    Nuns take part in a Way of the Cross to celebrate Good Friday, in front of the Sacre-Coeur Basilica in Montmartre district, in Paris, on March 29, 2013.

     

  • Egyptians protest outside prosecutor's office in Cairo

    Amr Nabil / AP

    Egyptian protesters chant slogans against Islamist President Mohammed Morsi slogans during a protest in front of the prosecutor general's office in Cairo, Egypt, on March 29, 2013. Hundreds of activists demonstrated to show solidarity with political activists charged by the prosecutor general with inciting violence during last week's clashes near the Muslim Brotherhood's Cairo headquarters. The Arabic banner at left reads, "none can threaten us," and at center, "freedom for activist Hassan Mustafa."

    Gianluigi Guercia / AFP - Getty Images

    Egyptian political activists, victims and prisoners' relatives shout slogans during a protest against current prosecutor general Talaat Abdallah outside Cairo High Court on March 29, 2013 in Egypt. An Egyptian court on March 27 overturned a decision by President Mohamed Morsi to sack prosecutor general Abdel Meguid Mahmoud and ordered his reinstatement, state media reported. The ruling by the appeals court will once again put the presidency on a collision course with the judiciary, while any enforcement of its terms remains trapped in a legal labyrinth.

    Oliver Weiken / EPA

    An Egyptian man bites the hand of a fellow protester over a dispute whether or not the military should take control again during a protest against Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood in front of the Prosecutor-General's office in Cairo, Egypt, on March 29, 2013.

    An Egyptian appeals court on Wednesday ordered the ministry of justice to reinstate the prosecutor general sacked by President Mohamed Mursi in November, cancelling his decision to appoint a new one, the court judge said.

    Mursi' decision to replace Abdel Maguid Mahmoud with Talaat Ibrahim drew criticism from the president's opponents, who said the move had exceeded his powers.

    "The court ruled that the president's decision to sack Judge Abdel Maguid Mahmoud is void and orders the minister of justice to reinstate him," judge Sana Khalil said. The appeal was lodged by Mahmoud.

    -- Reuters

    Amr Nabil / AP

    Egyptian protesters hang an Arabic banner reading, "people demand an arrest warrant to the prosecutor general" during a protest in front of the prosecutor general's office in Cairo, Egypt, on March 29, 2013.

  • Snowflakes welcome swimming season in Germany

    Tobias Schwarz / Reuters

    People take a bath at Berlin's Wannsee lido, on March 29, 2013. The Strandbad Wannsee opened the annual swimming season this Friday with temperatures of 39 degrees Fahrenheit.

    Tobias Schwarz / Reuters

    Manfred Scharnowski takes a sip of tea before he takes a bath at Berlin's Wannsee lido, on March 29, 2013. The Strandbad Wannsee opened the annual swimming season this Friday with temperatures of 39 degrees Fahrenheit.

    Tobias Schwarz / Reuters

    A person walks along Berlin's Wannsee lido, on March 29, 2013.

    Jan Woitas / AFP - Getty Images

    A man pulls a child on a sled through a park in Leipzig, Germany, on March 29, 2013. Fresh snowfall hit parts of the country on Good Friday.

    Jan Woitas / AFP - Getty Images

    A snowman stands in a park in Leipzig, eastern Germany, on March 29, 2013.

    Roland Holschneider / EPA

    A man swims in an open-air pool in Frankfurt, Germany, on March 29, 2013. The open-air pool is one of the very first to start its bathing season in the state of Hesse despite the wintery weather and cold outside temperatures.

    Arie Kievit / EPA

    Warming weather and longer days bring out the first signs of Spring.

     

  • Darth Vader, Alien among revelers at Holy Week celebrations in Peru

    Rodrigo Abd / AP

    A boy poses for a picture with people wearing costumes of famous sci-fi movie characters during the Canaan fair, which is part of the Holy Week events in Ayacucho, Peru, on March 28, 2013. Catholics around the world commemorate Jesus' crucifixion on Good Friday before celebrating his resurrection on Easter Sunday.

    Rodrigo Abd / AP

    An indigenous woman walks at the Canaan fair.

    Rodrigo Abd / AP

    Living statues perform in front of a church as part of the Holy Week celebrations in Ayacucho.

    Rodrigo Abd / AP

    A dog rides a carousel during the Canaan fair.

    Rodrigo Abd / AP

    A boy rests during the Canaan fair.

    Read more about Semana Santa in Ayacucho at about.com and see more of Rodrigo Abd's work on PhotoBlog:

    Divided by class, Peruvians united in love of beach

    Actors gather at the shores of the Rimac River in Lima, Peru, to re-enact the baptism of Jesus Christ for Holy Week celebrations. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

  • Wildfire threatens ecological zone in southern Brazil

    Lauro Alves / Agencia RBS via AFP - Getty Images

    An aerial view of the Taim Ecological Station on fire, in Rio Grande do Sul state, southern Brazil, on March 27, 2013.

    A wildfire that started on Tuesday has consumed around 1,400 acres of a protected ecological station in southern Brazil. The fire at the Taim Ecological Station is at risk of spreading further, Agence France-Presse reports, since there is limited access to water. 

    Lauro Alves / Agencia RBS via AFP - Getty Images

  • Pyongyang marchers: 'Rip the puppet traitors to death!'

    Jon Chol Jin / AP

    University students punch the air as they march through Kim Il Sung Square in downtown Pyongyang, North Korea, on March 29, 2013.

    Jon Chol Jin / AP

    Tens of thousands of North Koreans turned out for a mass rally at the main square in Pyongyang on Friday in support of their leader Kim Jong Un's call to arms.

    Placards read "Let's crush the puppet traitor group" and "Let's rip the puppet traitors to death!", The Associated Press reported.

    Earlier on Friday, the isolated communist state put its rocket units on standby to attack U.S. military bases in South Korea and the Pacific, Reuters reported, after two nuclear-capable stealth bombers flew from Missouri to drop inert munitions on a range in South Korea as part of a major military exercise.

    KCNA via EPA

    A picture released by the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows Kim Jong Un convening an urgent operation meeting at 0:30 am on March 29, 2013 at an undisclosed location, in which he ordered strategic rocket forces to be on standby to strike US and South Korean targets at any time.

    Related:

    Combat ready? Kim Jong Un inspects troops as North Korea issues new threats

    Kim Jong Un gets to grips with North Korean army's latest technology

    Military members and civilians rallied in Pyongyang on Friday as it was announced that the Korean People's Army is combat-ready to strike bases in the U.S. as well as targets in South Korea. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

    David Guttenfelder / AP

    As chief Asia photographer for the Associated Press, David Guttenfelder has had unprecedented access to communist North Korea. Here's a rare look at daily life in the secretive country.

  • Demanding justice in Yemen

    Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

    Protesters shout slogans as they march to demand Yemen's former President Ali Abdullah Saleh's immunity be stripped and that he stand trial for the killings of protesters who demanded the end of his 33-year rule, in Sanaa March 28.

    Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

    Children watch from the rear window of a car as protesters march past demanding Yemen's former President Ali Abdullah Saleh's immunity be stripped, in Sanaa March 28.

     

  • Rescuers comb rubble after building collapses in China

    ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images

    Rescuers search for people after a building collapsed on March 27 in Chengdu, China. The building was slated to be demolished and it was uncertain if there was anyone in or near the building when it collapsed.

    ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images

    Medical staff wait as rescuers search for buried people after a building collapsed on March 27 in Chengdu, China.

    ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images

    Rescuers search for buried people after a building collapsed on March 27, in Chengdu, China. T

    ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images

    Rescuers search for buried people in the rubble of a collapsed building, March 27, in Chengdu, China.

     

  • Afghan villagers flee their homes, blame US drones

    Anja Niedringhaus / AP

    Men peer through the former window of a destroyed school in the village of Budyali, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, on March 19, 2013. Taliban militants attacked the nearby district headquarters in July 2011, then took refuge in the school. The Afghan National Army requested help from coalition forces, who responded with drones, fighter jets and rockets, leaving the school destroyed, according to village elders.

    Anja Niedringhaus / AP

    Ahmed Shah, 12, center, recalls the attack on his village in the yard of a house where he and his family found refuge in the village of Khalis, Nangarhar province, on March 20, 2013.

    Anja Niedringhaus / AP

    Ghulam Rasool sits in the yard of his house in Khalis on March 20, 2013.

    Barely able to walk even with a cane, Ghulam Rasool says he padlocked his front door, handed over the keys and his three cows to a neighbor and fled his mountain home in the middle of the night to escape relentless airstrikes from U.S. drones targeting militants in a remote corner of Afghanistan.

    Rasool and other Afghan villagers have their own name for Predator drones. They call them benghai, which in the Pashto language means the "buzzing of flies." When they explain the noise, they scrunch their faces and try to make a sound that resembles an army of flies.

    "They are evil things that fly so high you don't see them but all the time you hear them," said Rasool, whose body is stooped and shrunken with age and his voice barely louder than a whisper. "Night and day we hear this sound and then the bombardment starts." Read the full story.

     

    Anja Niedringhaus / AP

    Boys study in a makeshift school in the village of Budyali, Nangarhar province, on March 19, 2013.

    Anja Niedringhaus / AP

    Papers and schoolbooks lie among the debris of a destroyed school in the village of Budyali, Nangarhar province, on March 19, 2013.

    Anja Niedringhaus / AP

    Men walk through the debris of the destroyed school in the village of Budyali, Nangarhar province, on March 19, 2013.

    Rahmat Gul / AP

    More than ten years after the beginning of the war, Afghanistan faces external pressure to reform as well as ongoing internal conflicts.

    Related:

  • Google Street View takes former residents on virtual tour inside Japan nuclear zone

    Google via AP

    A screenshot made from the Google Maps website shows stranded ships left as a testament to the power of the tsunami which hit the area, near a road in Namie, Japan.

    Google via AP

    A crushed building in Namie, a nuclear no-go zone where former residents have been unable to live since they fled from radioactive contamination near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant two years ago.

    Google via AP

    Google's camera-equipped vehicle moves through Namie in a photo released on March 27, 2013 and taken earlier in the month.

    Crumpled homes, abandoned shops, empty streets. The town of Namie has lain virtually untouched since its residents were evacuated two years ago, following the accident at the nearby Fukushima nuclear plant.

    On Wednesday they were able to see their town again thanks to Google, which began offering glimpses of Namie on its Street View service. The town's mayor, Tamotsu Baba, invited Google to document the current state of Namie after receiving numerous requests from constituents who wanted a reminder of their home town.

    Although some restrictions on entering the town have been lifted, Namie's 21,000 former residents have not yet been allowed to return to live there due to the still-high levels of radiation.

    In a message posted on the Google website, the mayor said he hoped that sharing the images with the rest of the world would serve as a reminder of the consequences of a nuclear accident.

    Related:

    Nuclear refugees visit their home near stricken Fukushima plant

    Fukushima: Before, during and after

    Inside the Fukushima exclusion zone

     

    Google via AP

    Google via AP

  • Scott Olson / Getty Images

    Demonstrators protest planned school closings in Chicago

    Demonstrators are arrested while protesting school closings, March 27, 2013, in Chicago, Ill. About 50 people were cited and released after refusing to move from a street during a show of civil disobedience. More than 1,000 demonstrators held a rally and marched through downtown to protest a plan by the city to close more than 50 elementary schools. The city claims the closings are necessary to rein in a looming $1 billion budget deficit. The closings would shift about 30,000 students to new schools and leave more than 1,000 teachers with uncertain futures.

  • Charlie Riedel / AP

    A car is silhouetted against the setting sun as it travels along I-70, March 27, 2013, in Kansas City, Kan.

    Sunset in Kansas

    A car is silhouetted against the setting sun as it travels along I-70, March 27, 2013, in Kansas City, Kan.

  • Mystery mounds seen from space

    NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

    Get a look at a Mars expedition on Earth, pictures from other planets and other out-of-this-world images from March 2013.



    Our monthly roundup of cool views from outer space includes this picture, showing a weird assortment of frost-covered mounds as seen from orbit. But where do you suppose the picture was taken? Morocco? Montana? Mercury? Mars? Take a guess, then click through March's edition of the Month in Space Pictures slideshow to get the answer. And if you're just dying to look at the answer key immediately, click on this link.

    More space slideshows:


    Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log and the rest of NBCNews.com's science and space coverage, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

  • Drone protesters arrested at Air Force base in Nevada

    Julie Jacobson / AP

    Protesters lay down on the entrance road to Creech Air Force Base, home to the Predator and Reaper drones, to block traffic to the base during an anti-drone demonstration on Wednesday in Indian Springs, Nev. Ten people were arrested during the demonstration which was held by the Nevada Desert Experience group that holds an annual peace walk over five days from Las Vegas to the Nevada National Security Site.

    Julie Jacobson / AP

    John Amidon holds up a model of an Air Force drone while protesting outside Creech Air Force Base.

    Julie Jacobson / AP

    Retired Navy officer Phil Frank waves to cars entering Creech Air Force Base, home of the Predator and Reaper drones, to show his support for troops as members of the Nevada Desert Experience group hold an anti-drone demonstration.

    Julie Jacobson / AP

    A protester is escorted by Las Vegas Metro Police officers after being arrested for blocking traffic at the entrance of Creech Air Force Base.

     

  • Private food markets gradually see the light of day in Cuba

    Desmond Boylan / Reuters

    Men unload vegetables from a truck for wholesale at a market before dawn in Havana on Feb. 14. Communist-run Cuba is gradually dismantling its monopoly on the purchase and sale of food in favor of private vendors, as part of efforts to reform the Soviet-style economy. With the country importing around 60 percent of its food and private farmers outperforming state farms on a fraction of the land, the government is systematically deregulating the sector, leasing fallow land to would-be farmers and encouraging private transportation and sales.

    Desmond Boylan / Reuters

    A man sits in a car loaded with carrots at a wholesale market on the outskirts of Havana on March 26.

    Desmond Boylan / Reuters

    A man arranges vegetables for sale on a tricycle in the village of Sagua La Grande in central Cuba, around 149 miles east of Havana on March 10.

    Desmond Boylan / Reuters

    A woman holds money to pay a farmer in the village of Sagua La Grande in central Cuba, around 149 miles east of Havana on March 2.

    By Marc Frank, Reuters

    Cubans are building private food distribution networks from the farm through to retail outlets as communist authorities gradually dismantle the state's monopoly on the purchase and sale of agricultural products.

    The country's first wholesale produce market is up and running on the outskirts of Havana and across the island farmers report they are selling more of their goods directly to customers, ranging from hotels to individual vendors.

    Those involved say the change is speeding the flow of food to market, helping end longstanding inefficiencies that often left crops to rot in fields and putting more money in the pockets of producers. Continue reading.

    Enrique De La Osa / Reuters

    Tomatoes are displayed for sale at a private wholesale market in Havana on March 26.

    Previously on PhotoBlog:
  • Salvage crews dismantle grounded US Navy ship piece by painstaking piece

    Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kelby Sanders / U.S. Navy

    Feb. 8, 2013: The USS Guardian sits aground on Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea 22 days after it was grounded.

    Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Anderson Bomjardim / U.S. Navy

    March 2: The second deck level is guided onto the U.S. Navy contracted vessel M/V Jascon 25.

     

    Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Anderson Bomjardim / U.S. Navy

    March 9: Contractors remove an exhaust pipe section.

    The USS Guardian, a U.S. Navy minesweeper that ran aground in a protected marine sanctuary off the Philippines on Jan. 17, has been painstakingly taken apart, piece by piece, over the past two months.

    The Navy has been working alongside the Philippine coast guard and a contracted crane vessel to dismantle and extract the ship from the Tubbataha Reef, a World Heritage Site in the Sulu Sea.

    The Navy said in January that the 224-foot Guardian was "beyond economical repair." They decided that the only supportable salvage option was to dismantle it in sections due to the deteriorating integrity of the ship, its weight, and where it was grounded on the reef.

    Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Anderson Bomjardim / U.S. Navy

    March 12: The M/V Jascon 25 and the tugboat Archon Tide are positioned next to the Guardian during salvage operations.

    Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jonah Stepanik / U.S. Navy

    March 11: Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Brandon Berry, assigned to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 1, grinds through steel in the engine room compartment in preparation for removal of machinery.

    Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jonah Stepanik / U.S. Navy

    March 13: A civilian crew member of the M/V Jascon 25 guides an engine salvaged from the Guardian.

    Aaron Favila / AP

    March 18: Filipino protesters shout slogans during a rally near the U.S. Embassy in Manila in protest at the alleged destruction of the coral reef by the USS Guardian.

    The ship's bow was lifted on to a barge on Tuesday and the remaining sections of the wood and fiberglass hull are expected to be removed over the next few days, according to a report in Stars and Stripes, a military newspaper. The salvage operation has had to be suspended several times due to adverse weather.

    The incident damaged at least 1,200 square yards of coral reef, according to an initial, conservative estimate by the Philippine coast guard, leading to protests outside the U.S. Embassy in Manila.

    -- The Associated Press contributed to this report 

    Philippine Coast Guard via EPA

    March 26: The bow of the ship is raised.

    Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jonah Stepanik / U.S. Navy

    March 21: Navy Diver 2nd Class Matthew Costa, assigned to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 1, guides a piece of equipment being lifted from the engine room compartment.

    Philippine Coast Guard via EPA

    March 26: A view inside the bow.

    Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kelby Sanders / U.S. Navy via Getty Images

    March 26: The bow is raised by a crane on the M/V Jascon 25.

    Related:

    Rachel Maddow updates the reporting on the USS Guardian, a U.S. Navy minesweeper stuck on an ecologically significant and fragile coral reef in the Philippines, being chopped into pieces to avoid further damage to the reef (and further incursion of fines for damage already done).

  • Signs of debate descend on Washington for same-sex court cases

    Jewel Samad / AFP - Getty Images

    Same-sex marriage supporters demonstrate in front of the Supreme Court on March 27, in Washington, D.C.

    Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

    A demonstrator holds a Bible while marching outside the Supreme Court in Washington, on March 26, as the court heard arguments on California's voter approved ban on same-sex marriage, Proposition 8.

    Pete Marovich / Zuma Press

    Pro same-sex marriage activist Ryan Toney, 18, of Washington, D.C. stands in front of the Supreme Court in Washington D.C. on Wednesday.

    Nicholas Kamm / AFP - Getty Images

    Opponents of same-sex marriage participate in the March for Marriage in Washington, D.C. on March 26.

    Saul Loeb / AFP - Getty Images

    Same-sex marriage supporters and same-sex marriage opponents argue their points in front of the US Supreme Court on March 26, in Washington, D.C.

    Demonstrators for and against same-sex marriage rallied outside the U.S. Supreme Court with signs on Tuesday and Wednesday, as the court heard cases on California's Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act.

    Related content:

  • Sia Kambou / AFP - Getty Images

    Rebels of the Seleka coalition arrest a man, who was wearing military fatigues and claiming to belong to the Seleka movement, suspected of looting a house in Bangui, Central African Republic, on March 26, 2013.

    Looters, gunmen roam Central African Republic capital after coup

    By Ange Aboa, Reuters

    Looters and gunmen roamed the streets of Central African Republic's capital Bangui on Tuesday as rebels and regional peacekeepers struggled to restore order two days after a coup plunged the mineral-rich country into chaos.

    The ousting of President Francois Bozize and the political turmoil around it has raised fears of a humanitarian crisis in the former French colony - and embarrassed regional power South Africa which had sent troops to defend the government.

    About 5,000 Seleka rebel fighters poured into the capital on Sunday, brushing aside a 400-strong South African force which attempted to block their path. At least 13 South African soldiers were killed and 27 wounded. Read the full story.

    Agence France-Presse Correspondent's Blog: 'Zero tolerance' for looters in Bangui

  • Golden Gate toll collectors say emotional goodbye as machines take over

     

    Stephen Lam / Reuters

    Toll collector Jacquie Dean waits for a vehicle at the Golden Gate Bridge toll plaza in San Francisco on March 26, 2013. The Golden Gate Bridge will change from manned tollbooths to a full electronic tolling system starting on Wednesday.

    Eric Risberg / AP

    An old Chevrolet makes its way past the toll booths on Tuesday.

    By Joe Rosato Jr., NBCBayArea.com

    As the end of her afternoon shift collecting tolls on the Golden Gate Bridge ended, Dawnette Reed felt the tears begin to come.

    She stepped out of her booth at lane three and made the walk back to the office for the last time. After 18 years collecting tolls at the bridge, her job was done.

    "I always say I know customers from the [baby’s] car seat to the driver's seat," Reed said of her regular customers. Read the full story.

    Stephen Lam / Reuters

    Toll collector Marilyn Alvarado receives the last toll from Jim Eddie, who is driving a vintage 1937 Packard, at her tollbooth early on Wednesday.

    Stephen Lam / Reuters

    Marilyn Alvarado waves as she leaves her tollbooth, as the last human toll collector, early on Wednesday.

    Related:

    Golden Gate Bridge celebrates 75th birthday in style

    Exploring the offbeat of the Golden Gate Bridge

    AFP / Getty Images

    San Francisco's iconic Golden Gate Bridge turns 75. Look back at the history of the bridge in our slideshow.

  • Stars in the sand at annual sculpture festival

    Matt Cardy / Getty Images

    Matt Cardy / Getty Images

    Sand sculptor Radavan Zivny works on a sculpture of Gollum.

    A sand sculptor works on a "Harry Potter"-themed sculpture as pieces are prepared for this year's Hollywood-themed annual Weston Sand Sculpture Festival on Tuesday, March 26, 2013, in Weston-super-Mare, England.

    Twenty award-winning sand sculptors from around the globe are working to create sand sculptures including Harry Potter, Marilyn Monroe and characters from the "Star Wars" films as part of the town's movie-themed festival on the beach, which is due to open on Good Friday.

    Video: The sculptors at work during the 2010 World Championship of Sand Sculpting

    Matt Cardy / Getty Images

    A sand sculptor works on a "Jurassic Park"-themed sculpture.

     

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