Menahem Kahana / AFP - Getty Images

Contestants stand during a beauty pageant for Holocaust survivors in the northern Israeli city of Haifa on June 28, 2012. The winner, Hava Hershkovitz, is on the right.

The Associated Press reports — Fourteen women who lived through the horrors of World War II paraded on stage Thursday night in an unusual pageant, vying for the honor of Israel's first 'Miss Holocaust Survivor'. The unusual event was hosted by an Israeli group that aids Holocaust survivors. Around 20 women, all in their 80s and 90s, told the audience their life stories. 

"I have the privilege to show the world that Hitler wanted to exterminate us and we are alive. We are also enjoying life. Thank God it's that way," said Esther Libber, a 74-year-old runner-up who fled her home in Poland as a child, hid in a forest and was rescued by a Polish woman. She said she lost her entire immediate family.

Billed by organizers as a celebration of life, the event also stirred controversy. In a country where millions have been touched by the Holocaust, many argued that judging aging women who had suffered so much on physical appearance was inappropriate, and even offensive. Read the full story.

Abir Sultan / EPA

Holocaust survivor Genia Schwartz-Bardt, 89, has her hair made up before the Holocaust Survivor Pageant.

Menahem Kahana / AFP - Getty Images

Pageant contestant Mania Herman, 87, dances during the event.

Sebastian Scheiner / AP

A man sends a kiss to Holocaust survivors participating in the pageant.

Abir Sultan / EPA

Winner Hava Hershkovitz is kissed after her victory.

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Rick Wilking / Reuters

One of the partially destroyed homes is still smoldering among those totally destroyed in the Waldo Canyon fire in Colorado Springs, Colorado on Thursday, Cooler temperatures and lighter winds helped firefighters in the battle against the fire, which has destroyed hundreds of homes and forced more than 35,000 people to flee.

Rick Wilking / Reuters

Four houses remain while every other house was destroyed on their street in the aftermath of the Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs.

Rj Sangosti / Denver Post via AP

This aerial photo shows the destructive path of the Waldo Canyon fire in the Mountain Shadows subdivision area of Colorado Springs, Colo., on Thursday.

Miguel Llanos reports that hundreds of homes have burned in the Colorado Springs area:

"There was nothing left in some areas -- burned out foundations that were smoldering. It looked like a nuclear weapon had been dropped. It's as close to hell as I could imagine," Mayor Steve Bach said after touring the heavily damaged Mountain Shadows subdivision.

Read more.

Slideshow: Homes gutted in Colorado fire

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The worst fire season in recent history is taking its toll with large fires burning thousands of acres in Colorado while others consume areas in Montana, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming.

Launch slideshow

There was a time in the 20th century when the word "communism" got the same airplay as "terrorism" does now. Though it's no longer the focus of fear, communism didn't die out entirely at the end of the Cold War. It persists in a few states around the world, explored by photographer Tomas van Houtryve in his new book Behind the Curtains.

Tomas van Houtryve / VII

2009: An all girls group of Young Communist League members walks past a statue of Chairman Mao Zedong in front of the Yan'an Revolutionary Memorial Hall in Yan'an.

Van Houtryve dealt with hair-raising circumstances in his quest: trekking in Nepal below military helicopters to find Maoists, impersonating a businessman to gain access to North Korea, and hiking deep into Laotian jungle to find hiding US-allied Hmong refugees left over from the Vietnam War.

That last mission led to a heartbreaking meeting:

Upon seeing us, some of the adults broke down in tears. They claimed not to have seen an American since the CIA pulled out of Laos more than three decades earlier.

Having traveled to several war zones and natural disasters, I had never seen such a ragged and desperate group of people. It took a while before they were calm enough to explain their situation to us and submit to Thomas’ interviews. Five men came forward saying that they were CIA-trained veterans of the Secret War. They pulled forward family members to show their bullet and shrapnel scars from attacks by the Lao People’s Army.

“If I surrender, I will be punished,” explained Xang Yang. “They will never forgive me,” he said of the Communist government. “I can not live outside the jungle because I am a former American soldier.”

Tomas van Houtryve / VII

2007: Relatives of veterans of the CIA Secret War break down in tears at their hidden village in the Vientiane province.

Tomas van Houtryve / VII

2006: People buy bread in a bakery in Havana.

Tomas van Houtryve / VII

2009: Papers fall out of the windows of the Parliament building while rioters ransack the inside in Chisinau, Moldova. Opposition leaders accused the Communists of rigging the recent elections and demanded a recount.

In Nepal, van Houtryve hiked for days in the Himalaya to reach a Maoist-controlled area. Upon meeting a local militia group, he observed:

The soldiers were much younger than I expected. Our minders had claimed that all fighters were over 18, but when Alex spoke to the battalion’s vice political commissar, he had a different reply. “According to Lenin, once they are 15, they can join the army.”

Many were girls. One wearing a Britney Spears t-shirt caught my eye. I also spotted Spiderman, Jurassic Park and several Harley Davidson designs in the crowd. How had Britney’s image penetrated this remote area while the news of communism’s global collapse apparently had not?

Tomas van Houtryve / VII

2005: A Maoist rebel soldier wearing a Britney Spears t-shirt stands among a batallion of other soldiers of the People's Liberation Army, First Brigade, Mid Division during a drill in a schoolyard in the village of Gairigaon, Nepal.

Book cover, Tomas van Houtryve's "Behind the Curtains."

You can buy the book at the VII Photo Agency's store.  View an exhibit in New York and meet Tomas at a book signing in San Francisco.

See more images in PhotoBlog from:

• China
• Cuba
• Laos
• North Korea
• Moldova
• Vietnam

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David Goldman / AP

Supporters of President Barack Obama's health care law celebrate outside the Supreme Court in Washington, on June 28, after the court's ruling.

Jason Reed / Reuters

Protesters against President Barack Obama's 2010 healthcare overhaul hold signs outside the Supreme Court in Washington on June 28. A sharply divided Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the centerpiece of Obama's signature healthcare overhaul law that requires that most Americans get insurance by 2014 or pay a financial penalty.

Mark Wilson / Getty Images

Reporters run with the U.S. Supreme Court's health care decision on June 28, in Washington, DC. Today the high court upheld President Obama's health care overhaul, in a victory for the president and Congressional Democrats.

Tom Curry, msnbc.com National Affairs writer -- In a dramatic victory for President Barack Obama, the Supreme Court upheld the 2010 health care law Thursday, preserving Obama’s landmark legislative achievement.

The majority opinion was written by Chief Justice John Roberts, who held that the law was a valid exercise of Congress’s power to tax.

Roberts re-framed the debate over health care as a debate over increasing taxes. Congress, he said, is “increasing taxes” on those who choose to go uninsured.

Read the full story.

Related links:

• Read the justices' full ruling (PDF)
• Poll: Do you agree with health care ruling?
• Thrilled and relieved, sick patients cheer court ruling

Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA

Protestors dressed as belly dancers, who are against President Obama's health care law, gather outside the Supreme Court prior to the justices issuing their ruling in Washington, DC, on June 28. The high court's decision could be a huge lift, or blow, to the Obama administration.

Jason Reed / Reuters

Protesters against President Barack Obama's 2010 healthcare overhaul react outside the Supreme Court in Washington on June 28. A sharply divided Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the centerpiece of Obama's signature healthcare overhaul law that requires that most Americans get insurance by 2014 or pay a financial penalty.

David Goldman / AP

Maggie O'Brien, 20, of Syracuse, N.Y., wakes up after spending the night sleeping outside the Supreme Court, on June 28, in Washington. Saving its biggest case for last, the Supreme Court is expected to announce its verdict Thursday on President Barack Obama's health care law.

Evan Vucci / AP

Journalists wait outside the Supreme Court for a landmark decision on health care on June 28, in Washington.

Stefan Rousseau / WPA Pool via Getty Images

A view from a cable car as London Mayor Boris Johnson takes one of the first rides on the Emirates Air Line cable car across the River Thames prior to its official opening to the public this morning on June 28 in London, England.

Stefan Rousseau / WPA Pool via Getty Images

London Mayor Boris Johnson takes one of the first rides on the Emirates Air Line cable car across the River Thames prior to its official opening to the public this morning on June 28 in London, England.

The Emirates Air Line, a £44 million cable car system spanning the Thames in London, was officially launched by London mayor Boris Johnson. Ahead of the public opening, Mr Johnson rode one of the cable cars which will whisk passengers almost 300ft above the river between Greenwich by the 02 Arena in south London and the Royal Docks by the ExCel exhibition center to the north. Each car provides 360-degree views taking in the City, Canary Wharf, historic Greenwich, the Thames Barrier and the Olympic Park.

See more Olympics related photos on PhotoBlog.

Lefteris Pitarakis / AP

Back-dropped by the O2, a Transport for London's gondola lift cable car is seen across the River Thames, in London, on June 28. The cable car will make the half-mile crossing between Greenwich and the Royal Docks, allowing visitors to take in the views of Olympic Park, the Canary Wharf financial center and the Thames Barrier. Each of the 34 cars holds 10 people and looks like the gondolas that ferry skiers up the mountains in the Swiss Alps. Travelers can go one way or round-trip, with a one-way ticket costing 3.20 pounds (5 US dollars).

Slideshow: Venues for 2012 London Olympic Games

Oda / Getty Images

From Wimbledon to Wembley Stadium to The Dome, a look at the venues for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Launch slideshow

SANA via Reuters

Civil Defense members extinguish fires on cars at the site of an explosion outside Syria's highest court in central Damascus on June 28, 2012. The explosion tore through the car park outside the court on Thursday, torching at least 20 cars, a Reuters witness said, but it was not immediately known if there were any casualties.

SANA via Reuters

Civil Defence members extinguish fires on cars at the site of an explosion outside Syria's highest court in central Damascus on June 28, 2012.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Images in this report were released by the state-controlled Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

Reuters reports — Rebel forces attacked Syria's main court in central Damascus on Thursday, state television said, while Turkey deployed troops and anti-aircraft rocket launchers to the Syrian border, building pressure on President Bashar al-Assad.

There was a loud explosion and a column of black smoke rose over Damascus, an Assad stronghold that until the last few days had seemed largely beyond the reach of rebels. State television described it as a "terrorist" blast.

Previously on PhotoBlog: Glimpses of escalating conflict in Syria

Dozens of wrecked and burning cars were strewn over a car park used by lawyers and judges. State news agency SANA said three people were wounded by the bomb hidden in one of the cars.

Read more about developments in Syria on Thursday, which included an announcement by Hamas that one of its members had been killed in his home in Damascus in what the Palestinian Islamist group described as a "cowardly murder".

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AFP - Getty Images

A Syrian fireman tries to extinguish fires at the scene of two huge bomb explosions outside the Palace of Justice in Central Damascus on June 28. A police source told AFP on condition of anonymity that two magnetic bombs exploded in two judges' cars in the open-air car park, while a third was in the process of being defused.

SANA via EPA

Smoke rises at the site of bomb explosion in the garage of the Justice Palace in Damascus, Syria, on June 28. According to SANA, a bomb went off at the garage area of the Justice Palace in Damascus, injuring three people and causing material damage.

SANA via AFP - Getty Images

Smoke rises above Damascus after two huge bombs exploded outside the Palace of Justice in Central Damascus on June 28.

Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA

Inmate Julie Harper, center, marches with members of America's only all-female chain gang early in the morning at Estrella Jail in Phoenix, Arizona. Photos taken in May 2012 and made available to msnbc.com on June 28, 2012.

Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA

The chain gang work in 104 degree heat, hacking at weeds at Bartlett Lake.

Photos and text by Jim Lo Scalzo, European Pressphoto Agency — It's a scene reminiscent of the Deep South at the turn of the 20th century: A dozen prisoners in pinstripes working by the side of the road, their legs shackled together and their brows dripping with sweat. Yet this is present-day Phoenix, and the prisoners are all women.

Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA

Kelly DeGrose, center, listens to a detention officer lecture them after a day's work on the chain gang.

With a few exceptions, chain gangs were abandoned in the U.S. by 1955. But Arizona's Maricopa County, which includes metropolitan Phoenix, reintroduced the practice in 1995, and today the county runs the only all-female chain gang in the country. Women volunteer for the duty, looking to break the monotony of jail life. Most are in for minor convictions - a DUI sentence, a probation violation - and are housed at the Tent City, a collection of surplus military tents erected next to Maricopa County's Estrella Jail to ease overcrowding. 

Previously on PhotoBlog: Rikers Island inmates graduate with high school diplomas

The "chain girls," as they call themselves, gather at 6 a.m., when detention officers drive them to that day's work site. It could be a local park to pick up trash, a highway roadside to pull weeds, or even a county cemetery to help bury the indigent. Though summer temperatures in Phoenix can rise above 110 degrees, inmates volunteer with surprising eagerness.

"It's worth it just to get out for a few hours," says Mickey Haas, who is serving time for a DUI. Fellow chain girl Honi Simmons agrees, adding: "It comes with a good story. I don't think people will ever believe I was in a chain gang."

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Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA

Members of the chain gang line up for work early in the morning at Estrella Jail.

Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA

Members of the chain gang are seen in a bus driver's mirror en route to White Tanks Cemetery to help bury the indigent.

Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA

The chain gang help bury an unclaimed body at White Tanks Cemetery, an indigent burial site in the desert west of Phoenix.

Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA

Inmates Alma Madrigal, left, and Jennifer Thomas, right, help Lisa McCorvey roll up her sleeves before a day's work.

Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA

Members of the chain gang clean the dust off their boots after another day's work in the desert.

Kyodo News via AP

A nomad voter arrives at a yurt temporarily serving as a polling station in Hovt, western Mongolia, on June 28, 2012.

Mark Ralston / AFP - Getty Images

A man walks past graffiti proclaiming freedom of speech on the eve of parlimentary elections in Ulan Bator on June 27, 2012.

The Associated Press reports from ULAN BATOR, Mongolia — Mongolians traveled by foot, car and horse to vote for a new legislature Thursday in an election that centered on better spreading the benefits of Mongolia's mining boom across the vast and still largely poor country. 

A poll this month showed the opposition Democratic Party with a slight edge over the ruling Mongolian People's Party, though neither had the support to win an outright majority in the 76-seat parliament.

The Democratic Party has cast itself as better placed to help the poor and unemployed and portrayed the ruling MPP as beholden to the rich. Read the full story.

The Guardian: Mongolia's new wealth and rising corruption is tearing the nation apart

PhotoBlog: Nuggets of gold on a journey across the Mongolian steppe

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Mark Ralston / AFP - Getty Images

Herdsmen vote at a polling station during the Mongolian parliamentary elections in the village of Zurlug on June 28, 2012.

How Hwee Young / EPA

People outside a luxury store in Ulan Bator on June 27, 2012 on the eve of the parliamentary elections. Mongolian has some of the world's largest reserves of gold, iron ore, copper and coal, while one-third of the population lives under the official poverty line.

Denis Doyle / Getty Images

Spanish fans react while watching the Euro 2012 semi-final match between Spain and Portugal on June 27, 2012 on a giant outdoor screen on Paseo de La Castellana in Madrid.

Jon Super / AP

Spain's Cesc Fabregas celebrates with his teammate, goalkeeper Iker Casillas, after Fabregas scored the decisive penalty in the shoot-out against Portugal in Donetsk, Ukraine in the early hours of June 28, 2012. "When I stepped up to take the penalty I said to the ball that we had to make history and that it shouldn't let me down," Fabregas said later.

Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images

Fabregas, third right, and Casillas are engulfed by their team-mates at the conclusion of the shoot-out, which Spain won 4-2.

Armando Franca / AP

A Portuguese fan sits dejected in the stadium after his team crashed out.

The Associated Press reports — Spain again failed to dazzle at the European Championship yet still advanced to its third straight major championship final, beating Portugal 4-2 in a penalty shootout Wednesday following a scoreless draw after extra time.

Cesc Fabregas, who came on as a substitute in the second half, scored the deciding penalty after Bruno Alves hit the crossbar for Portugal moments earlier.

Spain will next face either Germany or Italy in the final on Sunday in Kiev. Read the full match report.

Related content:

• ProSoccerTalk analysis of the Spain vs. Portugal match
• Slideshow: Best photos from Euro 2012
• Full Euro 2012 coverage on NBCSports.com

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Lefteris Pitarakis / AP

The Olympic rings are seen atop the iconic Tower Bridge over river Thames in London, coinciding with one month to go until the start of the London 2012 Games, Wednesday, June 27, 2012.

AP reports: Five super-sized Olympic rings were lowered off Tower Bridge on Wednesday, draping the internationally recognized symbol over the landmark spanning the Thames river.

 The fusing of a London icon - the gateway to the city - with the rings is a signal that London is ready to go one month before the Olympic games, which start July 27 and end on Aug. 12. Continue reading the full story.

Related story:

• Sources: Olympic security checks not properly carried out

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James Morgan / AP

In this photograph released by WWF-Canon via AP Images, seized ivory ready for the burn in Libreville, Gabon, on Wednesday, June 27, 2012, in a ceremony to symbolize Gabon's commitment to ending poaching and other wildlife crimes. created an elite military unit whose mission is to secure Gabon's parks and to protect wildlife, especially against poaching and illegal trade of ivory and the confiscated ivory was a product of this crackdown.

Wils Yanick Maniengui / AFP - Getty Images

Five tons of ivory worth around 10 million euros ($14 million) burn on June 27, 2011 in Libreville to mark his government's commitment to battling poachers and saving elephants.

Miguel Llanos, msnbc.com reports:The Central African nation of Gabon on Wednesday burned all the elephant tusks and ivory ornaments it had in its stockpile -- an amount equivalent to 850 elephants -- so that smugglers, via corrupt government officials, won't get their hands on the black market commodities treasured in China and other parts of Asia.

"Gabon’s elephants are under siege because of an illegal international market," President Ali Bongo said. "I call on the international community to join us in this fight" by cracking down on smugglers and buyers. "If we do not reverse the tide, the African elephant is in serious trouble." Continue reading the full story.

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Riot police try to arrest members of the "Stop Deshaucios," Stop Evictions, social movement during a protest to prevent an eviction in Oviedo, northern Spain on June 27, 2012.

Photos and text by Eloy Alonso / Reuters:

Protesters tried to prevent the eviction of an Ecuadorian family unable to maintain its mortgage payments in Oviedo, northern Spain. Jorge Cordero, his wife Patricia and five-month-old daughter Amanda were evicted because they could not keep up mortgage payments to the Cajastur bank. Seventeen people locked themselves in the apartment with the owner and around 200 people gathered outside to try and stop the eviction. Jorge's wife and baby daughter were not present in the apartment during the eviction. Twenty people were arrested. The plight of over one million Spanish people facing a crippling mortgage debt is increasingly attracting public support as an anti-eviction movement places pressure on politicians to act.

Related content:

• Spain's economic crisis turns middle-class families into illegal squatters
• Faces of the Spanish crisis

Activists from the "Stop Deshaucios," Stop Evictions, social movement throw buckets of water from a balcony to prevent police entry during a forced eviction.

Riot police take cover from water thrown from balconies by protesters of an anti-eviction social movement.

Spanish riot police restrain a member of the "Stop Deshaucios," Stop Evictions, social movement during a protest to prevent an eviction in Oviedo.

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Chris Young / The Canadian Press via AP

Local residents react to the news that rescue workers have recovered a body at the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada on June 27. Officials recovered a body Wednesday after spending the night dismantling a partially collapsed Ontario mall in a renewed rescue effort after angry residents had shouted down fears that the unstable structure made the work too risky to continue. Part of the roof collapsed last Saturday afternoon. At least 22 people had minor injuries.

Chris Young / The Canadian Press via AP

Local residents light candles at a memorial while rescue workers wait to access the wreckage of the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada on June 27. Officials recovered a body Wednesday after spending the night dismantling a partially collapsed Ontario mall in a renewed rescue effort after angry residents had shouted down fears that the unstable structure made the work too risky to continue. Part of the roof collapsed last Saturday afternoon. At least 22 people had minor injuries.

AP reports -- Officials have recovered two bodies after starting to dismantle a partially collapsed Ontario mall. The renewed rescue effort came after angry residents shouted down fears that the unstable structure made the work too risky to continue.

Bill Neadles, a spokesman for the Toronto-based Heavy Urban Search and Rescue team, said Wednesday a second victim is being removed.

Read the full story.

Dave Martin / AP

Jorge Torrez hugs his son Jayden, 12, as they sit on a wall overlooking their flooded home in Live Oak Fla., on June 27. Dozens of homes and much of the downtown area was flooded by torrential rains from Tropical Storm Debby.

Dave Martin / AP

People survey the floodwaters in Live Oak Fla., Wednesday, June 27, 2012. Dozens of homes and much of the downtown area was flooded by torrential rains from Tropical Storm Debby. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Slideshow: Flooded homes left in Debby's wake

Dave Martin/AP

Tropical Depression Debby damaged thousands of homes and washed out roads in Florida.

Launch slideshow

msnbc.com news staff and news service reports -- Flooding from Tropical Depression Debby damaged thousands of homes, washed out roads, opened up sinkholes and closed a section of Interstate 10 — the state's main east-west highway.

Water was up to the roofs at some homes in low lying areas of Live Oak, Fla., on Wednesday. Several feet of water remained around businesses in downtown near the courthouse and many roads were impassable.

"The water came in so fast last night," said Live Oak resident Jorge Torres. "We were lucky to get out what we could. My shed is under water."

Read the full story.

Previously on PhotoBlog: Tropical storm Debby floods neighborhoods, forces evacuations

Dave Martin / AP

Gordon McClain, left, surveys his water-filled living room in Live Oak Fla., on June 27. At right is friend Kenny Stoudemire. Dozens of homes and much of the downtown area was flooded by torrential rains from Tropical Storm Debby.

Dave Martin / AP

John Mosley, J.D. Crews and Shanne Piet look in the windows of Piet's flooded pet shop in Live Oak Fla., June 27. Dozens of homes and businesses were flooded by torrential rains from Tropical Storm Debby.

Dave Martin / AP

Flood water surrounds homes in Live Oak Fla., on June 27. Dozens of homes and much of the downtown area was flooded by torrential rains from Tropical Storm Debby.

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Mukhtar Khan / AP

A Kashmiri Muslim woman kisses the charred walls of a shrine that held a few relics from Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani in downtown Srinagar, India, on June 27. Thousands of Indian forces patrolled tense streets in Kashmir's main city on Wednesday as residents boycotted work for a third straight day to protest the fiery destruction of the 200-year-old Muslim shrine.

Rouf Bhat / AFP - Getty Images

A Kashmiri Muslim volunteer helps clear debris inside the charred remains of the 200-year old shrine of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani, also known as Dastigheer Sahib, in downtown Srinagar on June 27. A major fire gutted a 200-year-old, revered Sufi Muslim shrine in Indian Kashmir June 25, sparking clashes between police and residents in the region's summer capital Srinagar, police said. Nearly two dozen people were injured in the violence, triggered by anger at the perceived delayed response of firefighters in battling the blaze.

Previously on PhotoBlog: Blaze at Sufi shrine triggers violence in Indian Kashmir

Paul Faith / Pool via Reuters

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II shakes hands with Northern Ireland deputy first minister Martin McGuinness at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast on June 27, 2012.

The picture above may not look all that special, but it captures a historic moment in the Northern Ireland peace process.

Since it was announced last week that Queen Elizabeth II would meet Martin McGuinness, formerly a senior commander in the IRA, there had been intense speculation about how the encounter would play out — and how it would be recorded.

'Never thought I'd see this day': Reflecting on Queen's historic meeting with ex-IRA commander

It was only on Wednesday morning that Buckingham Palace confirmed the meeting — or at least a part of it — would be filmed. Cameras were not present for the initial encounter between the Queen and McGuinness, who is now Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister, but a small number of media representatives were allowed to witness their farewells. 

Hands of history: Gestures of the Northern Ireland peace process

Even then, the handshake was not permitted to be broadcast live. Rolling news channels in the U.K. were forced to fill the image vacuum with endlessly-looped footage of the Queen looking at an art exhibit, as their correspondents attempted to describe a scene they had not yet been able to see. Finally, after an interminable delay, a handful of still images and 23 seconds of video were released to the world.

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Paul Faith / Pool via AFP - Getty Images

Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson, second left, and the Duke of Edinburgh watch as the Queen shakes hands with Martin McGuinness.

Peter Muhly / AFP - Getty Images

Armed police block a road leading to the Lyric Theatre in Belfast during the Queen's visit.

Mike Segar / Reuters

Inmate Abdul Cornelius is hugged by his mother Regina, left, and his sisters after receiving his General Equivalency Diploma along with 26 others at a graduation ceremony for inmates at the George Motchan Detention Center at New York City's Rikers Island correctional facility on June 26, 2012.

Reuters reports — More than two dozen students graduated on Tuesday from one of New York City's more unusual schools, where pens are forbidden and armed guards watch over every classroom.

The ceremony at the East River Academy on Rikers Island, New York City's main jail, allowed prisoners to take a step toward a better future with a high school equivalency diploma, known as a GED.

"Wow! Wow! I say ‘wow' because now I have something people can appreciate me for," said Adboul Hanne, who is awaiting trial on an attempted murder charge.

Rikers makes the school mandatory for inmates who are 16 or 17 and encourages it for inmates ages 18 to 21. Some 3,600 students pass through the school per year, and about 800 are enrolled at any given time, the New York City Department of Correction said. Read the full story.

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Mike Segar / Reuters

Guards stand next to inmates during the graduation ceremony at Rikers Island.

Mike Segar / Reuters

Inmate Arisleida Duarte applauds as she and others receive their diplomas.

Cameron Spencer / Getty Images

'Tuka' the komodo dragon leaves a paw print on a canvas at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia on June 27, 2012.

Cameron Spencer / Getty Images

'Tukta' the female elephant prepares to make her mark.

Cameron Spencer / Getty Images

'Mr Munro', a Fiordland penguin, jumps to the side after leaving his prints on a canvas.

Animals at an Australian zoo created a Hollywood-style Walk of Fame on Wednesday as they signed up to a worthy cause.

Taronga and Western Plains Zoo announced a new elephant conservation project in Thailand, Getty Images reports, and animals at the zoo made their own pledges by dipping their paws in paint and smudging them on canvas.