Handout / Reuters
A new kind of lake monster has been found, in the depths of Lake Tahoe: gigantic goldfish. Researchers trawling the lake for invasive fish species scooped up a goldfish that was nearly 1.5 feet long and weighed 4.2 pounds. Read the full story
Aijaz Rahi / AP
Indian officials collect evidence at one of the two bomb blast sites in Hyderabad, India, early Feb. 22, after a pair of bombs exploded the previous evening.
Mahesh Kumar A / AP
Sujatha is overcome after seeing her husband Venkateshwarulu's body at a mortuary in Hyderabad, India, on Feb. 21. Her husband was killed in a pair of blasts in a crowded shopping area.
The AP reports: A pair of bombs exploded Thursday evening in a crowded shopping area in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, killing at least 11 people and wounding 50 more in the worst bombing in the country in more than a year, officials said.
The blasts occurred about two minutes apart outside a movie theater and a bus station, police said. Storefronts were shattered and television footage showed the wounded being rushed to hospitals. Read full story
EPA
An injured man is carried to hospital from the site of a bomb blast in Hyderabad.
Mahesh Kumar A / AP
A member of the bomb squad with a sniffer dog arrives at the spot after a bomb blast in Hyderabad on Feb. 21.
Two bombs explode in a shopping are of Hyderabad, India, killing at least 11 people and wounding dozens more in what officials are calling the worst bombing in India in more than a year. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
Matt Reid / AP
Robert Miller, left, and J'Qwan Robinson help push a friend's car out of the snow Feb. 21, in St. Joseph, Mo.
Dave Kaup / Reuters
Stalled vehicles are seen during a blizzard as traffic backs up on a major thoroughfare in Overland Park, Kan., on Feb. 21.
Tom Dorsey / AP
Tim Meece shovels a walk to help a friend Feb. 21 in Salina, Kan.
By Erin McClam and Matthew DeLuca, NBC News
Lumbering coast to coast, a winter storm hammered the Great Plains on Thursday, and more than a dozen more states were forecast to be hit in coming days.
Accidents were reported across the region, with one death: an Oklahoma teenager who was killed when his pickup truck skidded across a slushy road. Read full story
Dave Kaup / Reuters
A man stands next to car stuck in the snow during a blizzard in Kansas City, Kan., on Feb. 21.
David Carson / AP
A car is stuck in a ditch after spinning out on Interstate 70 East near Lake St. Louis, Mo., Feb. 21.
Robert Cohen / AP
An American Airlines flight arrives as sleet falls at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, on Feb. 21.
Tom Dorsey / AP
Gina Pucket shovels snow from her driveway in Salina, Kan., on the morning of Feb. 21.
Much of the Midwest is covered in a blanket of white as a massive winter storm has covered parts of Missouri, Oklahoma, and Kansas with over a foot of snow. NBC's John Yang reports.
Slideshow: Winter's Frozen Splendor
PhotoBlog: Golf championship play stopped due to Arizona winter storm
This story was originally published on Thu Feb 21, 2013 3:29 PM EST
In a series of undated pictures released by the official Korean Central News Agency on Feb. 21, 2013, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is shown inspecting Korean People's Army Unit 323, also known as the O Jung Hup-led 7th Regiment, in Pyongyang.
KCNA via EPA
KCNA - KNS via AFP - Getty Images
KCNA via AFP - Getty Images
KCNA - KNS via AFP - Getty Images
KCNA - KNS via AFP - Getty Images
KCNA - KNS via AFP - Getty Images
KCNA via Reuters
KCNA via Reuters
By David Chance, Reuters
SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea has bolstered its defenses against a "hostile" United States with its third nuclear test, it said on Thursday, noting that countries that had bowed to U.S. pressure to abandon their nuclear plans had suffered "tragic consequences."
Pyongyang carried out its largest nuclear test to date last week, in defiance of U.N. resolutions, prompting warnings of tougher sanctions for the isolated and impoverished state and its young ruler, Kim Jong Un. Read the full story.
The youngest son of Kim Jong Il succeeded his late father in 2011, becoming the third member of his family to rule the unpredictable and reclusive communist state.
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More photos of Kim Jong-Un on PhotoBlog
Glimpses of North Korean life exposed by AP photographer
Photographer George Steinmetz flies a motorized paraglider over deserts around the world to capture these incredible shots, from China to Africa to Antarctica. He has been taking the stunning photos for the last 15 years, now compiled in the beautiful book 'Desert Air.'
Adventurous photographer George Steinmetz goes to extraordinary lengths to get the photos he wants, shooting from the air in a motorized paraglider he helped design. NBC's Jamie Gangel reports on how the daredevil captures his incredible images.
Jeff Chiu / AP
Golden Gate Knights instructor Alain Block and Gary Ripper, dressed as Darth Vader, demonstrate light saber moves during class in San Francisco.
Jeff Chiu / AP
Golden Gate Knights instructor Alain Block, right, teaches during class in San Francisco.
Jeff Chiu / AP
Jim Collum and other students work on their light saber skills during a Golden Gate Knights class in San Francisco.
Jeff Chiu / AP
Aaron Cheng jumps over a light saber swung by fellow student Starshine Medeiros during a Golden Gate Knights class.
Jeff Chiu / AP
Sophianna Ardinger meditates after a Golden Gate Knights class.
The Golden Gate Knights, a group of San Francisco Star Wars fans who want to travel to a galaxy not that far away have created a combat choreography class for Jedis-in-training with their weapon of choice: the light saber.
Continue reading Associated Press article.
Editor's note: The images were photographed on Feb. 10, but made available to NBC News today.
GRAPHIC WARNING: Contains images which some viewers may find disturbing.
SANA via AP
Syrian security agents next to a vehicle on fire following a huge explosion in Damascus on Feb. 21, 2013.
SANA via Reuters
Vehicles burn near a crater on a road after an explosion in central Damascus on Feb. 21, 2013
By The Associated Press
The death toll is expected to rise in Damascus after a car bomb exploded near a security checkpoint in the downtown area of the Syrian capital. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
Syrian state TV says 53 people were killed and more than 200 wounded in a car bomb attack near the headquarters of the ruling Baath party in central Damascus.
The bomb was one of at least three attacks in the heart of the city on Thursday. A second blast shook another neighborhood and mortar rounds exploded near the Syrian Army General Command.
The Britain-based activist group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 42 had been killed in the car bombing, most of them civilians.
The difference in the death tolls could not be immediately reconciled. Click here for updates on this developing story.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Pictures released by the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency.
SANA via EPA
A thick black pall of smoke fills the air close to the site of a large explosion in Damascus on Feb. 21, 2013.
SANA via EPA
Wounded men sit near destroyed cars and other damage following a large explosion in Damascus on Feb. 21, 2013.
SANA via AP
Syrian security agents carrying a body following a huge explosion that shook central Damascus on Feb. 21, 2013.
SANA via EPA
Clouds of smoke swirling around destroyed cars following a large explosion in Damascus on Feb. 21, 2013.
SANA via AP
An injured man lying on the ground after a huge explosion in Damascus on Feb. 21, 2013.
/
A look back at the conflict that has overtaken the country.
This story was originally published on Thu Feb 21, 2013 6:25 AM EST
Damir Sagolj / Reuters
A U.S. Marine drinks the blood of a cobra during a jungle survival exercise with the Thai Navy as part of the "Cobra Gold 2013" joint military exercise, at a military base in Chon Buri province Feb. 20, 2013. About 13,000 service members from seven countries, Thailand, U.S., Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia are participating in the 11-day military exercise.
Related:
Huge military exercise highlights 'rebalancing of US policy toward Asia'
Ross D. Franklin / AP
Tournament volunteers walk along the golf course after a snow storm suspended play for the day during the Match Play Championship golf tournament, on Feb. 20, in Marana, Ariz. Play was suspended for the day.
Ted S. Warren / AP
Snow covers a cholla cactus during a snow storm at the Match Play Championship golf tournament, on Feb. 20, in Marana, Ariz. Play was suspended for the day.
By Mark Lamport-Stokes, Reuters
Dove Mountain looked more like a winter wonderland than a golfing venue after driving snow forced play to be abandoned in the opening round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship on Wednesday.
Just over three-and-a-half hours of golf was possible on a bitterly cold and breezy morning before rain, sleet and then snow led to matches being suspended at the elite World Golf Championships (WGC) event.
Ice formed on the greens and, with further snow showers forecast for the rest of the day in Arizona's high desert, officials called off play for the day after waiting a couple of hours to re-evaluate conditions.
Almost two inches of snow covered the entire course, driving range and practice putting green at Dove Mountain's Ritz-Carlton Golf Club after all but 10 matches had started with none finishing.
"Once we got two inches of snow, even if it melted in the next hour or so, it would still take another hour-and-a-half ... to let the golf course drain where we could play," Mark Russell, the PGA Tour's vice president of rules and competition, said.
Ross D. Franklin / AP
A spectator walks past a snowman made on a fairway after the first round of the Match Play Championship golf tournament was suspended due to snow Wednesday, Feb. 20, in Marana, Ariz.
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The latest big blast of winter weather is predicted to hit 18 states, affecting 30 million people, and has already dumped snow from San Diego across Arizona and into the Midwest. The Weather Channel's Mike Seidel reports.
Joe Penney / Reuters
Boys play on the roof of the entrance to a football stadium in Gao, Mali, on Feb. 20.
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Reuters
Free Syrian Army fighters and civilians react as they run after a jet missile hit the al-Myassar neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria, on Feb. 20.
Reuters
People rescue a family member stuck in their house after a jet missile hit al-Myassar neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria, on Feb. 20.
By Reuters
A jet missile hit the al-Myassar neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria, on Wednesday. A "Scud-type" missile killed at least 20 people in Aleppo yesterday, according to opposition activists.
As the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, now a civil war, nears its two-year mark, rebels also landed three mortar bombs in the rarely-used presidential palace compound in the capital Damascus, opposition activists said on Tuesday.
The United Nations estimates 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict between largely Sunni Muslim rebels and Assad's supporters among his minority Alawite sect. An international diplomatic deadlock has prevented intervention, as the war worsens sectarian tensions throughout the Middle East.
A Russian official said on Tuesday that Moscow, which is a long-time ally of Damascus, would not immediately back U.N. investigators' calls for some Syrian leaders to face the International Criminal Court for war crimes. Continue reading.
Muzaffar Salman / Reuters
Free Syrian Army fighters and civilians search for survivors under rubble after a jet missile hit the al-Myassar neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria, on Feb. 20.
Muzaffar Salman / Reuters
A man carries a child who was wounded after a jet missile hit the al-Myassar neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria, on Feb. 20.
Muzaffar Salman / Reuters
A Free Syrian Army fighter carries the remnant of a missile fired by a jet at the al-Myassar neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria, on Feb. 20.
George Ourfalian / Reuters
Soldiers loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and their tank patrol the streets in al-Sabaa Bahrat district, an area controlled by Free Syrian Army fighters, in the center of Aleppo, Syria, on Feb. 20.
Previously on PhotoBlog:
Goran Tomasevic / Reuters
A look back at the conflict that has overtaken the country.
Patrick Baz / AFP - Getty Images
Iraqi models share their pictures backstage during a hairdressers' and make-up artists' festival in Baghdad on Feb. 9, 2013. It was the first time that this kind of festival had taken place in the Iraqi capital since 1999.
Agence France-Presse photographer Patrick Baz has been reporting on Iraq since 1998, covering the international sanctions, the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 and the years of violence that followed.
In these excerpts from AFP’s Correspondent blog, he describes how he tried to document everyday life on his return to Baghdad this month: "How people go about their work, seek entertainment, and try to lead a normal life despite all the risks, attacks and violence that still haunt this city."
Patrick Baz / AFP - Getty Images
A model taking part in the hairdressers' and make-up artists' festival.
Patrick Baz / AFP - Getty Images
An Iraqi bride sits in her wedding car on Feb. 7, 2013.
By Patrick Baz, Agence France-Presse
I hadn't returned to Baghdad since 2009. Even before touchdown, it was obvious that things had changed. For nearly a decade, planes had to approach the airport in a tight spiral to avoid leaving the secure air space and becoming vulnerable to missile attack. That meant that passengers were forced to lean to one side. But this time – a first for me – I flew in from Beirut on a regularly scheduled flight and we made a normal approach, just like in any country in peacetime.
Patrick Baz / AFP - Getty Images
A waiter carries plates of Masgouf, a fish found in the Tigris river, as he serves clients in a restaurant on Baghdad's Abu Nuwas street late on Feb. 2, 2013.
Patrick Baz / AFP - Getty Images
Iraqi customers in a bar located on the rooftop of Baghdad's Hotel Palestine late on Feb. 9, 2013.
On all of my previous trips I rarely saw an Iraqi laugh. Which is why I was so surprised this time. Baghdad in 2013 is a different place. Yes, you can still feel an underlying violence. But suddenly the city is laughing, smiling. Baghdad goes out, eats out. Baghdad parties.
Patrick Baz / AFP - Getty Images
Iraqi hairdressers, one of them blindfolded, take part in a competition during a festival on Feb. 9, 2013.
Patrick Baz / AFP - Getty Images
A young man shows off on his motorbike during the Friday motor show in Baghdad's al-Jadriya district on Feb. 8, 2013.
But change is everywhere, even if the streets are full of U.S.-inspired fashion and fast-food joints. One of the first things one notices is the money. There’s a lot of it sloshing around, most visibly in the form of expensive accessories and a serious number of luxury cars. I never thought I’d see Porsches cruising the streets of Baghdad.
Patrick Baz / AFP - Getty Images
An Iraqi cleans his 1958 Chrysler during the Friday motor show in al-Jadriya.
But what has changed most is something less tangible, a feeling that pervades the city.
In 2009 it was a huge risk just being here, and reporters couldn't go out into the street without armed bodyguards. Now, people are much more relaxed. I went wherever I liked, even in the middle of the night, including bars, restaurants and cabarets. Because of an ongoing curfew between one and five o’clock in the morning, one service goes from 9 p.m. until midnight so people can get home. Then the nighthawks come, and stay until the curfew is lifted at 5 a.m.
Read more on AFP's Correspondent blog.
Patrick Baz / AFP - Getty Images
A woman uses her cellphone to take a picture of her friend at an amusement park in Baghdad's Abu Nuwas street on Feb. 4, 2013.
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Altaf Qadri / AP
A domesticated elephant halts at a traffic intersection in New Delhi, India, on Wednesday. There are an estimated 28,000 wild elephants in India, along with thousands of domesticated ones that do everything from performing in shows to carrying heavy loads in the country's big cities.
Previously on PhotoBlog:
Matt York / AP
U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., listens to a question during a town hall in Sun Lakes, Ariz., Feb. 19, 2013.
The Associated Press reports — During a heated town hall gathering in the Phoenix suburb of Sun Lakes, Sen. John McCain said the border near Yuma is largely secure, but he said smugglers are using the border near Tucson to pump drugs into Phoenix. He said immigration reform should be contingent on better border security that must rely largely on technology able to detect border crossings.
The Daily Rundown's Chuck Todd shares details from the tense meeting which took place in Phoenix, Arizona on Tuesday.
"There are 11 million people living here illegally," he said. "We are not going to get enough buses to deport them."
Some audience members shouted out their disapproval.
One man yelled that only guns would discourage illegal immigration. Another man complained that illegal immigrants should never be able to become citizens or vote. A third man said illegal immigrants were illiterate invaders who wanted free government benefits.
McCain urged compassion. "We are a Judeo-Christian nation," he said. Read the full story.
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Chad Blakley / Lights Over Lapland
The northern lights vie with a waxing moon over Sweden's Abisko National Park on Monday night.
One look at SpaceWeather.com's aurora gallery will tell you that February has been a very good month for auroral displays in northern latitudes, and an upswing in solar activity promises more to come.
One of the hot spots is Sweden's Abisko National Park, which is the favorite hangout for Chad Blakley of Lights Over Lapland. "We have seen powerful auroras in the sky above Abisko for 13 nights in a row, and it looks like there are more to come!" he wrote in an email Tuesday. "Last night I witnessed one of the finest aurora displays I have seen in many months. February 2013 is turning out to be one of the best months for aurora watching I have ever seen!"
You can get a sense of how Blakley's nights have been going by taking a minute to watch Blakley's time-lapse video below. But don't stop there: I'm also including a time-lapse from Helge Mortensen, a photographer based in Tromso, Norway, and from Oli Haukur and the OZZO Photography team in Iceland.
Scandinavia, Alaska and northern Canada are all hot spots for the northern lights this time of year, even though it gets chilly at night. The auroral displays might dip farther south if we get a nice geomagnetic storm coming our way, and the solar weather outlook suggests that could happen. A new sunspot region known as AR 1678 has cropped up, and SpaceWeather.com says this region could give rise to "a significant solar flare."
Check out the usual places for space weather updates, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center as well as the center's Facebook page and its Ovation aurora forecast chart. You'll also want to keep tabs on the Canadian Space Agency's AuroraMAX website — and the Lights Over Lapland Facebook page, where you'll find an awesome image of the aurora glowing beside a moon halo.
More auroral glories:
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 as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
Kacper Pempel / Reuters
A priest listens to a confession during Mass at the Temple of Divine Providence in Warsaw, Poland, Sept. 30, 2012.
Kacper Pempel / Reuters
Priests conduct Holy Mass at the Temple of Divine Providence in Warsaw Sept. 30, 2012.
Kacper Pempel / Reuters
A woman holds a rosary at a monastery at night prior to celebrations of the Assumption of Mary at Jasna Gora in Czestochowa, Poland, Aug. 14, 2012.
Kacper Pempel / Reuters
A Catholic prays in front of the picture of former Polish Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski a day prior to celebrations of the Assumption of Mary at Jasna Gora Monastery in Czestochowa, Poland, Aug. 14, 2012.
Kacper Pempel / Reuters
Children play after Holy Mass in front of the Temple of Divine Providence in Warsaw, Poland, Sept. 30, 2012.
Kacper Pempel / Reuters
A nun, Eligia, holds a rosary as she leads a religion lesson at a public elementary school in Warsaw Oct. 4, 2012.
Kacper Pempel / Reuters
Catholic believers pray during the celebration of the Assumption of Mary at Jasna Gora Monastery in Czestochowa, Poland, Aug.15, 2012.
Poland is one of the most devoutly Catholic countries in Europe and is the birthplace of the previous pope, the very popular John Paul II. Many Poles were surprised and worried to hear that Pope Benedict was stepping down. Some also compared his decision to the last years of Pope John Paul, who struggled to carry on in his role with failing health. One Polish cardinal said John Paul had stayed on as pontiff to the end, as he believed "you cannot come down from the cross."
Reuters photographer Kacper Pempel, a native of Poland, spent the last several months documenting the Polish people practicing their faith and wrote about it in Reuters' Photographers Blog:
When Pope Benedict XVI announced last week that he was stepping down, the mood in my country, Poland, was overwhelming. This is one of the most devoutly Catholic countries in Europe, which still proudly identifies itself as the birthplace of Benedict’s predecessor, Pope John Paul II. On the day of the announcement my colleagues went to the Church of the Holy Cross in Warsaw. The worshipers coming out of the church were in a state of shock. “It’s so sad. It’s such a shame. But what can we do? I can’t believe it,” said one woman as she left the Holy Cross church in the Polish capital, who gave her name as Maria. “I am very sorry because I really like the Pope. He is continuing the teachings of our Pope (John Paul II).” Janusz, another worshiper, said: “I don’t think it’s true. In my opinion it would not be a good solution. It would definitely be a huge pity for Poles and Catholics.” Continue reading.
Kacper Pempel / Reuters
A Catholic worshipper kisses a cross as she takes part in a night pilgrimage of roughly 16 miles from Blonie to Niepokalanow monastery, which is held every month in Blonie, near Warsaw, Poland, Oct. 13, 2012.
Michael Dalder / Reuters
Uwe Kiehl of team Germany I dives during a match at the Underwater ice hockey Championships in lake Weissensee in Austria on Feb. 17.
Michael Dalder / Reuters
Thomas Jurkschat and Uwe Kiehl of team Germany I concentrate on the surface before a match at the Underwater Ice Hockey Championships in lake Weissensee in Austria on Feb. 16.
Michael Dalder / Reuters
Team Germany I plays Austria II during a match at the Underwater Ice Hockey Championships in lake Weissensee in Austria on Feb. 17.
Michael Dalder / Reuters
Uwe Kiehl of team Germany I breathes on the surface during a match at the Underwater Ice Hockey Championships.
Michael Dalder / Reuters
Equipment is prepared before a match at the Underwater Ice Hockey Championships in lake Weissensee in Austria.
Underwater ice hockey is played upside-down underneath the ice of frozen lakes with a floating puck by teams of two divers in wet suits and flippers. Reuters photographer Michael Dalder made these unique pictures on assignment covering the Underwater Ice Hockey Championships in Austria.
Dalder, also a diver, wrote about his adventures in Reuters' Photographers Blog:
I’ve been diving for almost 15 years, but due to family matters it has fallen off my list lately. So a new picture assignment at Lake Weissensee in mid-February 2013 just came right to my diver’s heart: The Underwater Ice hockey Championships.
Ice diving is, together with cave diving, considered to be the most dangerous diving discipline. For that reason I listened to the security briefing attentively. Continue reading.
Mark Wilson / Getty Images
A worker cleans debris from the Fun Town Pier that was damaged by Superstorm Sandy, Feb. 19, in Seaside Heights, N.J.
Mark Wilson / Getty Images
Workers install new pilings to replace the boardwalk that was damaged by Superstorm Sandy, Feb. 19, in Seaside Heights, N.J.
Mark Wilson / Getty Images
Workers install new pilings for the boardwalk that was damaged by Superstorm Sandy, Feb. 19, in Seaside Heights, N.J.
Rebuilding the boardwalk made famous by MTV's "Jersey Shore" began in earnest last Friday as heavy equipment including a gigantic drill and a pile-driving machine were brought onto the sand in the south end of Seaside Heights, N.J., the Associated Press reported.
They quickly began drilling holes in the sand and pounding wooden pilings into them, shaking the ground for blocks around.
It marked the beginning of a $3.6 million contract the borough awarded to rebuild the boardwalk. Mayor William Akers said the initial work — restoring the boardwalk so that it can be walked on safely — should be done by May 10. Continue reading.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has estimated that damage in New Jersey caused by Superstorm Sandy could reach $37 billion.
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Mark Wilson / Getty Images
The Star Jet roller coaster remains in the water on Feb. 19, after the Casion Pier it sat on collapsed from the forces of Superstorm Sandy, in Seaside Heights, N.J.
Aleppo Media Center via AFP - Getty Images
Syrians inspect destruction following an apparent surface-to-surface missile strike on the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Feb. 19. The attack killed at least 20 people and another 25 were missing, opposition activists said on Tuesday. The missile was identified from its remains as a Scud-type rocket that government forces have increasingly used in areas under opposition control in the province of Aleppo and in the province of Deir a-Zor to the east, they said.
Hamid Khatib / Reuters
A member of the Free Syrian Army along with civilians search for survivors after a Syrian army rocket attack on the rebel-held Jabal Badro district in the city of Aleppo, on Feb. 19.
A look back at the conflict that has overtaken the country.
Reuters -- A Syrian army rocket attack on a rebel-held district in the city of Aleppo killed at least 20 people and another 25 were missing, opposition activists said on Tuesday.
The missile was identified from its remains as a Scud-type rocket that government forces have increasingly used in areas under opposition control in the province of Aleppo and in the province of Deir a-Zor to the east, they said.
"The rocket brought down three adjacent buildings in Jabal Badro district. The bodies are being dug up gradually. Some, including children, have died in hospitals," Mohammad Nour said by phone from Aleppo. He said testimony from survivors indicated that 25 people were still under the rubble.
Hamid Khatib / Reuters
A member of the Free Syrian Army sits near where a Syrian army rocket attack took place at the rebel-held Jabal Badro district in the city of Aleppo, on Feb. 19.
Amateur video from Aleppo, Syria, captures the scene of an alleged rocket attack by Syrian forces that left at least 20 people dead. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
Ronald Zak / AP
Naked Museum visitors look at pictures of the show "Nude Men from 1800 to Today" during a special opening to friends of nudism at the Leopold Museum, Vienna, Austria, on Feb. 18. The show "Nude Men from 1800 to Today" opened its doors from 19 October 2012 to March 4,2013, looking at how artists have dealt with the theme of male nudity over the centuries.
Heinz-Peter Bader / Reuters
A nude visitor walks through the art exhibition "Nude Men" at Leopold museum in Vienna, on Feb. 18. The museum welcomed naked viewers from the public on Monday in an after-hours showing of the exhibition, which has been extended to run until March 4, 2013.
Reuters -- VIENNA -- The exhibit in Vienna's Leopold Museum is entitled "Naked Men", so a group of nudists and naturalists took the curators at their word and showed up to see it on Monday in the buff.
"It is good to be free, I am seeing this exhibition for the second time now and it is perfect to see 'Naked Men' as a naked man," said one of the visitors who called himself Max and who on his previous visit wore his clothes.
The exhibition, which has been extended until March 4, is designed to show the diverse and changing depictions of male nudity in art history.
"Naked Men" helped boost visitor numbers at the museum by 17 percent to more than 364,000 last year.
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Leopold Museum via EPA
Naked visitors in the exhibition 'Nude Men' at the Leopold Museum in Vienna, Austria, on Feb. 18.
GRAPHIC WARNING: Contains images which some viewers may find disturbing.
Khaled Abdullah / Reuters
Military personnel and firefighters try to extinguish a fire at the site of an aircraft crash in Sanaa, Yemen on Feb. 19, 2013.
Reuters reports — A Yemeni air force plane crashed in the center of the capital Sanaa on Tuesday, killing at least 11 people and wounding 15, security sources said.
The Ministry of Defense said in a text message that the plane had been on a training flight when it came down in a western residential district.
A military official said the aircraft was a Russian SU-22 fighter/ground attack aircraft. Read the full story.
Khaled Abdullah / Reuters
The wing of a military aircraft is pulled by a police vehicle at the site of a crash in Sanaa on Feb. 19, 2013.
Khaled Abdullah / Reuters
People and police officers try to recover charred bodies of a driver and passengers by cutting the wreckage of a burnt taxi at the site of a military aircraft crash in Sanaa on Feb. 19, 2013.
A Yemeni air force plane reportedly on a training mission crashes in a residential area of Sanaa, Yemen, killing at least 11 people. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
Siphiwe Sibeko / Reuters
Oscar Pistorius awaits the start of court proceedings in the Pretoria Magistrates court on Feb. 19, 2013.
By Rohit Kachroo, Michelle Kosinski and Tracy Connor, NBC News
Prosecutors told a court Tuesday that there was nothing to support Oscar Pistorius’ claim that he thought his girlfriend was an intruder when he fatally shot her through a locked bathroom door at his home in South Africa.
A bail hearing, described as a “little trial” by one expert, was being held to determine whether the double-amputee athlete known as "Blade Runner" should be freed pending trial.
At the start of the hearing, Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair asked Pistorius "are you well?" to which the athlete shrugged and said "I guess." His eyes welled with tears. Read the full story.
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'A space missing inside': Family of Pistorius' partner Reeva Steenkamp hold funeral
Stephen Morrison / EPA
A view of the Singapore skyline from a bar on the top floor of the Marina Bay Sand in Singapore, Monday, Feb. 18, 2013.
Maxim Shemetov / Reuters
Ice sculptures constructed for the celebration of Orthodox Epiphany stand on the Lena river, outside Yakutsk in the Republic of Sakha, northeast Russia, on Jan. 17. The coldest temperatures in the northern hemisphere have been recorded in Sakha, in the Oymyakon valley, where, according to the United Kingdom Met Office, a temperature of -90 degrees Fahrenheit was registered in 1933 - the coldest on record in the northern hemisphere since the beginning of the 20th century. Yet despite the harsh climate, people live in the valley, and the area is equipped with schools, a post office, a bank and even an airport runway.
Maxim Shemetov / Reuters
Ruslan, 35, loads blocks of ice onto a truck outside Yakutsk in the Republic of Sakha, northeast Russia, on Jan. 17.
Maxim Shemetov / Reuters
A man takes a drink in the cabin of his truck in the village of Ytyk-Kyuyol in the Republic of Sakha, northeast Russia on Jan. 19.
By Maxim Shemetov, Reuters
One loses all bearings when faced with the shroud of white that obscures all things mid January in the Siberian city of Yakutsk. Only the traffic lights and gas pipelines overhanging the roads help you to find your way. Wrapped in frosty fog, the city life seems frozen in a sleepy half-light. It is -54 degrees Fahrenheit outside.
Maxim Shemetov / Reuters
A man takes a dip in the icy waters of the Lena River inside a tent to celebrate Orthodox Epiphany outside Yakutsk, in the Republic of Sakha, northeast Russia, on Jan. 18.
The Oymyakon valley, the Pole of the Cold, is the coldest known place in the Northern hemisphere. Thermometers registered a record chill of -88 degrees Fahrenheit in 1933, shortly after weather monitoring began here in the end of the 1920s.
And yet, here are schools, a post office, a bank, even an airport runway (albeit one that is open only in the summer) – all the trappings of a civilized life in the valley’s center at Tomtor. I could not help asking local people how they carried on a normal semblance of life in such extreme conditions. Sergey Zverev, a smiling villager in his 40s, said class was cancelled once when he was a school boy because the air temperatures had dropped to -85F. To celebrate he and his classmates got together to play football on the icy streets.
Read the full story on Reuters' Photographers Blog.
Maxim Shemetov / Reuters
The roof of a house is covered with snow in the village of Tomtor in the Oymyakon valley in the Republic of Sakha, northeast Russia, on Jan. 24.
Maxim Shemetov / Reuters
A girl poses in the village of Oymyakon, in the Republic of Sakha, northeast Russia, on Jan. 26.
Maxim Shemetov / Reuters
Sergei Burtsev, 41, a meteorologist, prepares to launch a weather balloon in the village of Tomtor in the Oymyakon valley, in the Republic of Sakha, northeast Russia, on Jan. 30.
Maxim Shemetov / Reuters
A car drives through the snow at night near Vostochnaya meteorological station in the Republic of Sakha, northeast Russia, on Jan. 20.
Previously on PhotoBlog:
John Makely / NBC News
A police officer makes his rounds at the Statue of Liberty National Monument which has been been closed since Hurricane Sandy.
John Makely / NBC News
Superintendent David Luchsinger walks along the pathways damaged by Hurricane Sandy on Liberty Island. Luchsinger and his wife were residents of the island when the storm hit in October 2012.
John Makely / NBC News
Much of the brick pathway on Liberty Island damaged by the storm will be replaced with larger pavers.
John Makely / NBC News
Ruined spotlights that once illuminated the Statue of Liberty need replacement.
By Andrew Rafferty, NBC News
The Statue of Liberty no longer towers over huddled masses these days. Instead, at her feet sit atop dumpsters filled with debris, piles of dirt and bricks ripped from the walkway that once led tourists around Liberty Island.
More than three months after Hurricane Sandy devastated parts of New York and New Jersey, the symbol of American exceptionalism still stands on an island full of rubble. Lady Liberty escaped the storm unharmed, but like so many Sandy victims, her home was destroyed. About 75 percent of Liberty Island was submerged. Nearly all the island’s infrastructure was destroyed by water that was more than five feet deep over some parts of the 12-acre island.
Neighboring Ellis Island has no upended sidewalks or debris anymore, but it will take a long time to repair the electrical system and infrastructure of the sprawling complex that welcomed 12 million immigrants to America.
Both islands have been closed indefinitely to visitors.
Despite the visible disarray, officials say they have recently turned a corner. The cleanup is largely complete, the damage is documented, and some relief money will soon start coming in to begin repairing millions of dollars worth of damage. Details of a final plan for the parks reopening will likely come within the next two weeks, according to park officials. They are hopeful the Statue of Liberty will be open by summer.
But not knowing when Lady Liberty will welcome visitors again has caused frustrations, both for those who work in the park and for politicians who view the landmark as a revenue source for the New York economy. Earlier this month, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. asked the Department of the Interior to set a hard and fast timetable for reopening the statue.
"The Statue of Liberty is still shuttered more than three months after Sandy struck the city and tourists, businesses and all New Yorkers need to know that the end is in sight," read a statement released by Schumer this month.
The National Parks Service and the vendors that cater to the island stand to lose at least several million dollars in ticket, concession and souvenir sales, park officials estimate. They've already lost two of their busiest times of the year -- Thanksgiving and Christmas. Even on a cold February day between 7,000 to 8,000 people will brave the Hudson River to view some of America's best known landmarks. As the weather gets warmer, everything gets busier. Last year the Statue of Liberty welcomed 3.7 million visitors.
John Makely / NBC News
Millions of dollars in revenue are lost with the closure of the popular tourist destination.
John Makely / NBC News
A tour boat passes the heavily damaged auxiliary dock on Liberty Island.
Those numbers are not lost on David Luchsinger, superintendent of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. He understands the toll that the prolonged closure has taken on the 450 employees and contractors who worked at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island before Sandy.
John Makely / NBC News
Hurricane Sandy inundated Ellis Island, flooding all the basements where most of the mechanical systems operated. Ellis Island will probably take longer to open than Liberty Island.
“We want it opened as soon as Sen. Schumer and everybody else does, and we're going to get it open as quickly as we can, and we're hoping that by the summertime we'll at least have the Statue of Liberty back open,” Luchsinger said.
But Luchsinger's focus has been not only on rebuilding, but improving. Before coming to New York, Luchsinger spent three years in Louisiana helping the recovery effort from Hurricane Katrina and getting through Hurricane Gustav and Ike. And for him, attention needs to be placed not only on repairing, but on preparing so that when the next storm hits, this type of devastation will not occur. That means elevating electrical and HVAC systems to prevent flooding from knocking them out again and looking into putting a gas line underground to Liberty Island.
"That's what's taking so long, we want to make sure that when we put things back, we put them back the right way," said Luschsinger.
For most of the past three months, the superintendent has had the task of telling media, members of government and the public that no timetable exists. Just this week, the Department of Transportation announced $28 million in emergency relief funding that will partially go toward repairing Liberty Island's two docks.
"The tourist season means jobs and customers - and we want to help make sure popular parks and tourist destinations in New York and New Jersey are as accessible as possible and open for business," Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez said in a statement.
The announcement set off a new round of speculation that Lady Liberty could be open to the public by Memorial Day. But Luchsinger, thanking the Department of Transportation for the aid, said that "the many other necessary repairs" will keep the park closed indefinitely.
Also, it took 91 days after the storm hit Oct. 29 for Congress to pass a $50.5 billion relief package.
After Hurricane Sandy swamped both The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island much work remains according to Superintendent David Luchsinger, who also lost his residence in the storm.
"Now that Congress has given us the funding, you know, we're in a position to start making things happen finally," said Luchsinger. But he is quick to point his team did not wait for a check to get to work. Almost as soon the storm moved out, the cleanup effort began. An incident command team took to the islands, working out of their cars.
While progress is slow but sure on Liberty Island, much larger Ellis Island will take well beyond summer to get up and running. The silver lining is that none of museum’s more than one million artifacts was lost. After the storm, the valuables were shipped to a museum archival center in Landover, Maryland, and there are no plans in place for bringing them back anytime soon.
Many of the employees who worked on Ellis Island and the surrounding parks now operate out of Federal Hall, still without phone lines.
Members of the parks department were getting ready to celebrate in the days leading up to Sandy. For the past year, the interior of the monument had been closed for a $30 million renovation that made it more accessible to visitors with disabilities. On Oct. 27, the monument's 126th birthday, visitors were again able to peek through Lady Liberty's crown. Thankfully, since there was no damage to the statue during the storm, none of the new renovation will need repair.
"The secretary [of the Interior Department] and I were celebrating one day and crying in our beer the second," joked Luchsinger. "But I know this park will come back, and I know it will be better than it was."
John Makely / NBC News
The Registration Room at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. While the building is intact, all of the mechanical systems in the basement were heavily damaged.
John Makely / NBC News
Until the building can be adequately climate-controlled, most of the artifacts that were on display in the Ellis Island Immigration Museum have been removed and archived in Maryland for safe-keeping.
John Makely / NBC News
A vacant wing of the Ellis Island Immigration Museum.
John Makely / NBC News
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