• Birmingham Zoo's Kumar the tiger gets a root canal

    Joe Songer / The Birmingham News via AP

    Veterinarian Dr. Robert Gaddis takes an X-ray before performing a root canal to fix the broken tooth of Kumar, the Malayan tiger at the Birmingham, Ala. Zoo.

    Joe Songer / The Birmingham News via AP

    Veterinarian Dr. Robert Gaddis performs a root canal to fix a broken tooth of Kumar, the Malayan tiger at the Birmingham Zoo.

    Zoo keepers at the Birmingham Zoo in Alabama discovered Kumar the 235-pound Malayan tiger had a broken tooth during a routine medical exam. The vets decided to perform a root canal on 13-year-old cat in an attempt to save the tooth.

    The photos were shot on May 2, but were made available to msnbc.com today.

    •Sign up for the msnbc.com Photos Newsletter

  • Birmingham's civil rights hero, Fred Shuttlesworth, dies

    AP file

    Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth right, integration leader, escorts Dwight Armstrong, 9, and his brother Floyd, 11, from the Graymont Elementary School in Birmingham, Ala, Sept. 9, 1963. State troopers, on order from the governor, opened the school but turned the African Americans away.

    AP file

    Civil rights leaders, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., left, Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, center, and Rev. Ralph Abernathy hold a news conference in Birmingham, Ala., May 8, 1963.

    Linda Stelter / The Birmingham News via AP file

    Civil rights leader Fred Shuttlesworth, front left, greets former President Bill Clinton in Selma, Ala., March 4, 2007, as Sen. Barack Obama stands behind them.

    By Phaedra Singelis, NBC News

    Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called Shuttlesworth "one of the nation's most courageous freedom fighters ... a wiry, energetic and indomitable man."  Though King was more well-known, Shuttlesworth led the fight in Birmingham-- the center of the civil rights struggle. He survived a bombing, was beaten, injured by fire hoses during protests and repeatedly arrested.

    I wonder how he felt when President Obama was inaugurated as our first black president?

    Full story.

    Slideshow on the march from Selma to Montgomery, known as 'Bloody Sunday.'

  • World's largest dog show kicks off in England

    By Elena Grothe

    There's been a shortage of dog photos to look at in our image database since the Westminster dog show wrapped up last month. But for the next few days, Crufts dog show is taking place in Birmingham. No more dog withdrawal.

    Christopher Furlong / Getty Images

    A dog takes part in the agility competition on the first day of the annual Crufts dog show for the Gun Dogs section at the National Exhibition Center on Thursday, March 10 in Birmingham, England. During this year's four-day competition nearly 22,000 dogs and their owners will vie for a variety of accolades, ultimately seeking the coveted 'Best In Show'.

    Christopher Furlong / Getty Images

    Golden Retrievers stand poised for the scrutiny of judges in the parade ring on the first day of the annual Crufts dog show Gun Dogs section at the National Exhibition Center on Thursday.

    Simon Dawson / AP

    A dog waits to take part in Britain's annual Crufts dog show at the NEC Arena on Thursday.

    Ben Stansall / AFP - Getty Images

    A woman grooms her American Cocker Spaniel on the first day of the annual Crufts dog show at the National Exhibition Center on Thursday.

    Eddie Keogh / Reuters

    A Chinese Crested dog, left, ooks up at a Great Dane on the first day of the Crufts dog show in Birmingham on Thursday.

    Christopher Furlong / Getty Images

    A Dogue de Bordeaux has his teeth cleaned during a demonstration by a vet on the first day of the annual Crufts dog show at the National Exhibition Center on Thursday.

    Eddie Keogh / Reuters

    A German Shorthaired Pointer yawns while waiting for judging on the first day of the Crufts Dog Show in Birmingham on Thursday.

    Christopher Furlong / Getty Images

    Oriel the Weimaraner waits for his turn in the parade ring on the first day of the annual Crufts dog show Gun Dogs section at the National Exhibition Centre on Thursday.

    Ben Stansall / AFP - Getty Images

    A dog jumps on the first day of the annual Crufts dog show at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on Thursday.

     

  • Reuters

    West Midlands Fire Service firefighters investigate the crash of a light aircraft at Birmingham airport on Nov. 20, in Birmingham, England. Flights were suspended at Birmingham airport on Friday after a light aircraft carrying human organs for transplant crashed on arrival injuring two men on board, West Midlands Police and the airport said.

    Organ transport plane crashes, liver saved and transplanted

    By Katie Cannon, Senior Multimedia Editor

    When I initially read this caption, I thought, "Wow, I can only the imagine the disappointment the recipients of the organs that were on board this plane felt when they heard the news of the crash. To wait for an organ must be a harrowing experience, and then to see it lost in a crash must be a devastating blow considering the odds of such an accident happening are so slim." However, amazingly enough, the liver that was being transported on this plane was saved and was successfully transplanted after a quick-thinking air ambulance pilot located the fuel supply and switched it off. He then helped to rescue the pilot from the plane. Read about the crash here and about the surgery here.