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This weekend marks the 20th anniversary of the Los Angeles riots and the first time I heard race being discussed on television. I was 10.

The year before, I had watched the Rodney King beating on the news with my parents. I knew that white police officers went to court for nearly beating a black man to death. My mother's reaction to the verdict was telling.

I was precocious enough to know that since the white police officers were "acquitted" it meant that they had essentially gotten away with committing a horrible crime. The L.A. riots ensued, and I watched. I recall wondering if the burning buildings, broken windows, random acts of violence within violence were going to spread to my hometown. I wondered what would have happened if there wasn't a videotape of the beating. I imagined the reactions of both blacks and whites had the verdict been different.

I had so many questions about the L.A. riots and why the police officers were acquitted. As an 11-year-old African American girl in small-town Massachusetts, I wondered if my race made me a second-class citizen.  The notion that children are color blind is debatable, but when an event such as the Rodney King beating and subsequent L.A. riots play out on the evening news, children are forced to think about race in a different way.

My parents used this opportunity as a teachable moment on race. We had several conversations about the L.A. riots and all of the subtopics that come with it -- police relations within the black community, poverty, justice (or lack thereof). They used language that was appropriate for my age. My dad asked me how I felt about the police officers not going to jail for what they did and if I thought the people should riot. I distinctly recall my mom asking if my friends at school were talking about the case. We had a dialogue. I knew my thoughts mattered.

That conversation cultivated my fearless passion to discuss race with people outside of my family. Since then, I've had numerous conversations about race with people from all walks of life to breakdown stereotypes and learn new perspectives.

The L.A. riots were a moment for my parents to capitalize on a conversation about race. And it is only through this conversation that Rodney King’s famous question can be answered: "Can’t we all just get along?" Not only are precocious 11-year-olds watching the news, but they are also listening and waiting for adults to facilitate positive conversations around race relations. Don't change the channel. Instead, talk about it.

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Editor's note: NBC News' Lester Holt gave the commencement address Saturday at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., and received an honorary doctorate degree. Here is the transcript of his address to Pepperdine's Class of 2012:

President Benton, with deep appreciation I humbly accept this honor. To the graduates, members of the faculty, special guests, parents and friends I extend my welcome and congratulations. I am so please to be able to address you.

Receiving this honor is humbling, but more than humbling, I must admit it is improbable.  Graduates, I never made the walk you are about to make to receive a college degree. I started working at an early age dj-ing on the radio when I was in high school. I went to college while managing to work full-time as a newsman. The career was taking off quickly, new and exciting opportunities arose and so I left school short of earning my degree. I headed off to San Francisco to chase my passion.

I’ve rationalized all these years that my career itself, covering events around the world, interviewing important people, pounding the halls of power with microphone in hand, has been worth multiple college degrees.  I won’t diminish my experiences, for it has been an unmatched education, that I wouldn’t trade for anything.  But let’s face it. It is not this, for which you have all worked so hard these past four years. I am proud of you, and as I often do at college commencements,  I also feel a sense of awe looking at all of you. Even a touch of envy.

So then, what do I have to offer you?  Well, maybe some advice on breaking the rules, or on occasionally learning to drive against the traffic flow.

I can also tell you that hearing the word “no” is not always a bad thing. Having never asked the question, on the other hand, is.  The first time I applied for a job at NBC in New York I was 18 years old.  Hey, who knew they didn’t hire high school kids? OK I knew, but come on -- how many high school kids had the gall to ask? I still have the rejection letter, and every time I look at it it never fails to bring a smile to my face.  The way I look at it, it just took them 23 years to reconsider my application.

You know, in some cases it’s going to take that kind of gall and confidence to stand out among the crowded field of job seekers in this environment. When the class of 2012 started here, our economy was plunging into the depths of recession. And while you were busy studying here, the rules out there were changing. Including a lot of the rules about how one successfully enters the work force. The course of our economy almost dictates that many of you will have to drive against the traffic flow to find your way. You’ll need to tap your creativity, innovate or draw an unconventional roadmap to success.

How and why the doors of opportunity open when they do and where they do, has always been a mystery to me. In my case persistence got me to the door step of those first couple of jobs, but when it came to the door actually swinging open for me...??? Well, the reality is luck and timing are always our best friends. It’s not always about you.

The one thing you can control is whether you’ve got the goods to walk through that door when it cracks open. The skills and determination to embrace the challenge. To quickly learn the tasks and navigate the ladder, for which there are rarely written instructions.

On the other hand, when those doors don’t budge open at first, you’ll need to find and draw from a deep reservoir of confidence within you, to power on to the next door step, and if necessary the one after that, and the one after that.

The changing rules also allow us to re-imagine the definition of success.  When I left school to focus on making it as a radio reporter I didn’t know where it would lead.  As I said before, I was chasing a passion. Going into TV wasn’t on my radar. I wasn’t thinking salary potential either, or even what my dream job was. I just wanted to embrace the craft. All I knew was that I loved the news.

As for all of you who are graduating today, rightfully basking in your accomplishment, the world is already demanding of you an encore performance. It wants to know “now what?”  “What’s next? “ That’s the conversation that surely follows this ceremony over the brunch table, and the conversation that has probably consumed you for the better part of this past year. From here, the old rules dictate that you quickly step onto the track of upward mobility and not look back. Happiness, passion and fulfillment are bonuses but not requirements.

Sometimes, however, in our single-minded pursuit of “what’s next?,” we fail to reflect on “what’s now?”  You’ve all got smartphones I assume, and you might be recording this now.  You are of course the generation of citizen photojournalists. Armed with smart phones you are ready to capture any and every moment and uploaded it onto Facebook well before my colleagues and I can get it on the air.

You are also a generation that remembers every detail of what it was like the first time you crawled your little diapered butts across the living room floor. The day you took your first steps, or when you melted-down on that first day of pre-school. Not because your early memories were so sharp but because you lived those moments through home video.

And so I’m curious to know if you will really remember this day? What it smelled like. What it looked like. The emotions and expressions on those around you. The sun beating onto your faces.  How uncomfortable those shoes are you have on. Or the hat on the person in front on you that’s obstructing your view?  Or will you remember it only through video clips on the 3-inch screen on your I-phone.  Are you living your reality through electronic viewfinders and 140 characters, or are you taking it in with your God given senses? You want reality programming? It’s all around you.  This is what’s now. Absorb what’s now. Breath it in.

My point of course is not about the downside of making videos. (I do that for a living).  It’s about making sure you don’t miss the scenic pull-offs on life’s journey just because someone’s in your face constantly asking “what’s next?”

More than 30 years in the business and now anchoring and hosting 3 major network news broadcasts and I still get the questions: what is your dream job? What do you want to do next?  I used to be able to tick off those jobs pretty quickly. Now my answer is very simple: “If this is as far as I got in my career then I would have been blessed with an amazing career and some amazing opportunities.”   And you know what? I could have said the same thing four jobs ago.

Don’t for a moment lower your expectations or your ambitions.  But don’t let them consume you to the point you become indifferent to the journey itself. Or to the extent that you fail to recognize how good you may have it at certain points along the way.

If I had any regrets about my own career path it would be those times I got so busy climbing the ladder, or so eager to step up to the next wrung that I forgot to pause and turn and appreciate the view around me. And those times I was so conditioned to see life in a video frame, that I didn’t allow myself to soak in those things you can only really see with your own eyes.

At NBC Nightly News we have a number of bright and talented college interns who are absolutely essential to our operation, and they attend the editorial meetings with the entire staff each day.  At the end of their internships, before they head back to school, we like to put them on the spot in those meetings by asking them the simple question: what have you learned? And so in that spirit, and in so much as I consider my 35-years in news my formal education, perhaps the time has finally come for my oral dissertation. Let me share with you the most important things I’ve learned along the way.

Number 1, when you strip away political and religious ideology, what unites us is far bigger than what divides us.  I’ve traveled the world and much of this country, and spoken to regular folks from Kabul to San Salvador, Beijing to Delhi, Tennessee to here in Malibu, California, and to a person, we all want the same things: To provide for our families, live unmolested and in a safe environment, educate our kids, and to be free. As you examine “what’s next,” and your own possibilities in life I ask you to consider: aren’t those the goals we’re all really chasing?

 Number 2, I have learned that we are an amazingly resilient species.  I have witnessed the horrors of war and crime, and countless natural calamities, and time and time again I have marveled at how people who have lost virtually everything -- their homes, their jobs, their communities, and even their loved one --  manage to pick themselves up, put one foot in front of the other, and do what they have to do to carry on. The take-away? You have no idea what you are capable of until you are truly tested.

And Number 3, I’ve learned that we have to meet each other half way. Every conflict I’ve ever covered has at it’s root the fact that no one is really listening.  The measure of a good journalist is often the toughness of our questions. But what I have come to know is that in life it is not the questions we ask, but rather our ability to hear the answers that truly enriches our understanding.

In conclusion, let me express my sincere hope that as you head down your career path, pursuing your passion and fulfillment, that it proves to be a deep, enriching and lasting education. Never stop learning. You’ll graduate from here today, but in life class is never really dismissed.

Class of 2012, thank you for your kind attention. Congratulations and may God bless you and keep you.

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By Stephanie Himango and Kevin Tibbles
NBC News

CANTON -- Mike O'Shaughnessy says it feels good to be part of the resurgence of American assembly and manufacturing.

Even though the television set is commonplace in the American home, good luck finding one that is made in America. You'd have to travel back in time a couple of decades to find production of a fully American-made set, to the days when you could buy an American-made Zenith.

As CEO and founder of Element Electronics, O'Shaughnessy is hoping to change that. This month, the company started assembly of large screen televisions in its Canton, Mich., factory.  Although the labor costs are higher here than overseas, O'Shaughnessy says that due to lower tariffs and transportation costs, it makes economic sense to assemble their larger sets here.

They're starting small -- just one assembly line at present --  but interest is big. Target, Wal-Mart, Costco and QVC have already placed orders, and the line is sold out to the end of the year. Appearing under the Element Electronics brand, these 46-inch and 50-inch American-assembled sets will arrive in stores beginning in mid-May.

The components will still be made in China for now, with the hope that in time they too will be made in America.  Even so, having the assembly and largely consolidated operation under one roof is something O'Shaughnessy sees as a benefit for all.

"We think the consumer experience will be enhanced by putting everything in one facility," he said.  That means the call center, refurbishment, and repair will all be handled in the Michigan location.

The company recognizes it is not alone in the desire to return to American manufacturing.

"There are certainly more people in line behind us on the diving board than there are people in the pool, but we've done our homework, and we're ready to do this."

By Janelle Richards
NBC News

Wearing athletic gear and her clear protective glasses, 19-year-old Rakey Drammeh groaned as she stepped onto the squash court.

"Ah! I feel like I haven't played in so long," Drammeh shouted. She picked up a racquet, swinging her arms back and forth, waiting for her opponent to arrive.

Six years ago, Drammeh had never heard of squash.

She learned about the sport in seventh grade while sitting in an auditorium at the Thurgood Marshall Academy in Harlem, listening to the Street Squash staff explain their after school program.

"I was with my dad and he was like, 'You know, you should do something while you're here...' and I was like, ‘What is squash? What are you getting me into?’" said Drammeh.

Within a few weeks Drammeh joined the program, where she received her first racquet, and a pair of protective glasses.

Now a sophomore environmental studies major at Bates College in Maine, Drammeh came back for a visit to play with some of the alums who benefited from the program in the same way she did.

"I kept going and going and I really got into the sport," said Drammeh. "I got a lot better and I met so many friends... I thought I can do this, this is fun."

When Drammeh entered the program she was a B-minus student.  But after several tutoring sessions (the after school program is split between playing squash and homework help), she began getting mostly A's.

Several other major U.S. cities have similar squash programs -- including Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and San Diego. They all focus on academic excellence.  And at Street Squash, high school students are able to take SAT prep classes.

According to the National Urban Squash Education Association, in recent years 93 percent of urban squash graduates have gone on to earn a college degree.

Harlem's Street Squash program was started in 1999 by George Polsky, a former Harvard squash player, who now serves as the organization's executive director.

"I would say almost all of the kids who participate in the program have never heard of [the sport]," said Polsky. "[This] is positive, in that one of the goals we're trying to achieve here is to introduce these kids to new experiences... and squash can be a very effective vehicle to do that where other sports may not be."

But initially, finding students to participate in the program wasn't easy. Polsky and his team visited several Harlem schools and tried to sell them the program by telling students they would receive a racquet and a ball.

"I think probably in the beginning most of the kids did it because they were intrigued or maybe there weren't a lot of other options for things to do and they just wanted to try it out," said Polsky.

Eventually they recruited 28 students and were able to borrow practice space from different schools.

Now the program has nearly 150 participants and their own squash center in Harlem.

Ninth grader Nick Little joined Street Squash two years ago.

"My older brother joined first and I used to mock the name of it," said Little. "Then I came and I saw how fun it was, so I started coming and I just started loving this place. I'm always here, always trying to get involved in the program."

On the court, Little tossed the ball up and adjusted his blue T-shirt as he swung his racquet.

The ball hit the wall full force, and Little prepared for another swing.

"I see myself playing until I graduate, maybe in college," Little said. "I feel free on the court, nobody can tell me what to do, if I'm mad I can take my anger out on the ball."

Street Squash's goal is to provide long-term support to students, said Polsky. The mentors build relationships that last through college, he added. Every student that has participated has graduated from high school, and 85 percent of students who go on to college are on track to graduate on time.

Rokya Samake, 18, a freshman at Bates College, joined Street Squash when she was in seventh grade. At the time, she said, she was an average student who did not put in extra time to become an excellent student.

"It definitely gives you another set of motivation and you know these people are behind you," said Samake. "You don't want to let them down so my grades from middle school to high school changed tremendously and it's a lot of why I'm at the college I'm at today."

Playing squash was an added bonus for Samake, a sport she grew to love.

"The program definitely made me love the sport," Samake added. "I mean, now I'm playing on the squash team at my college."

To learn more about Harlem's Street Squash program, visit their website: http://www.streetsquash.org/

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ULUGAN BAY, Philippines - Hundreds of American and Philippine troops waded ashore on Wednesday in a mock assault to retake a small island in energy-rich waters disputed with China, a drill Beijing had said would raise the risk of armed conflict.

The exercises, part of annual U.S.-Philippine war games on the western island of Palawan, coincide with another standoff between Chinese and Philippine vessels near Scarborough Shoal in a different part of the South China Sea.

China has territorial disputes with the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan across the South China Sea, each searching for gas and oil while building up their navies and military alliances.

China said last week the drill would raise the risk of confrontation. On Wednesday, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai said China was committed to dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the dispute.

"We are certainly worried about the South China Sea issue," Cui told a news briefing in Beijing, saying "some people tried to mix two unrelated things, territorial sovereignty and freedom of navigation."

Historical records
The comments come before high-level talks with the Obama administration. China, which claims the South China Sea based on historical records, has sought to resolve disputes bilaterally but its neighbors worry over what some see as growing Chinese assertiveness in its claims in the region.

"Location (of the drill) is irrelevant," Ensign Bryan Mitchell, spokesman for the U.S. Marines, told reporters.

"These exercises take place on a regular basis. This year it happens to be in Palawan. The planning for this took place months ago prior to any events that are currently in the headlines."

China, Russia begin naval war games

President Barack Obama has sought to reassure regional allies that Washington would serve as a counterbalance to China in the South China Sea, part of his campaign to "pivot" U.S. foreign policy towards Asia after wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Philippine military officials sought to play down the exercise. Lieutenant General Juancho Sabban, military commander for the western Philippines, said the drill "simply means we want to work together, improve our skills."

Romeo Ranoco / Reuters

U.S. Marines and Filipino troops participate in a joint military exercise in Ulugan Bay on the western coast of the Philippines on Wednesday.

Sabban's area of command includes Reed Bank and the Spratlys, a group of 250 mostly uninhabitable islets spread over 165,000 sq miles west of Palawan.

The Spratlys are claimed entirely by China, Taiwan and Vietnam and in part by Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines.

Huge oil reserves
Proven and undiscovered oil reserve estimates in the South China Sea range as high as 213 billion barrels of oil, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a 2008 report. That would surpass every country's proven oil reserves except Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, according to the BP Statistical Review.

A Philippine exploration firm, Philex Petroleum Corp, said on Tuesday its unit, Forum Energy Plc, had found more natural gas than expected around Reed Bank, where Chinese navy vessels tried to ram one of Forum Energy's survey ships last year.

The Philippines is due to open oil-and-gas exploration bids in Reed Bank on Friday.

NYT: Signs of an Asian arms buildup in India missile test

Vietnam reasserted its claim to the Spratlys and the Paracel islands, known in Chinese as the Xisha islands, further west of Scarborough Shoal in what it calls the East Sea.

Self-ruled Taiwan, which China considers a renegade province, reiterated its claims over territories in the South China Sea and urged "countries concerned to exercise self-restraint so that peaceful resolutions can be reached through consultation".

Sabban said the military drill was not focused on China.

"Never was China ever mentioned in our planning and execution," he told reporters. "China should not be worried about Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) exercises."

Amphibious assault
Nearly 7,000 American and Philippine troops were launched from U.S. and Philippine ships in the simulated amphibious assault to recapture an island supposedly taken by militants.

Commandos came ashore from U.S. and Philippine ships in a simulated amphibious assault to recapture an island supposedly taken by militants.

Jumping from rubber boats as they hit the shore, the commandos engaged in a mock firefight, making their way inch by inch from the beach to a navy facility to rescue "hostages" and recapture the base.

Read more China coverage on our Behind The Wall blog

Four days ago, commando teams rappelled from U.S. helicopters and landed from rubber boats in a mock assault to retake an oil rig in northern Palawan, 11 miles off the town of El Nido on the South China Sea.

The annual war games come under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, part of a web of security alliances the United States built in the Asia-Pacific region during the Cold War.

The drills are a rehearsal of a mutual defense plan by the two allies to repel any aggression in the Philippines.

Hundreds of kilometers to the north, a Philippine coast guard ship patrols near Scarborough Shoal, a group of half-submerged rock formations 124 nautical miles west of the Philippines' main island of Luzon.

Philippine and Chinese ships are often in the same areas of the South China Sea, with two Chinese maritime surveillance ships a few miles away from the coast guard vessel and five Chinese fishing boats working the waters nearby.

Cash-strapped, arson-prone Detroit could let fires in vacant buildings and homes burn themselves out to save the city Fire Department money.

The fiery notion from Detroit’s Executive Fire Commissioner Donald Austin surfaced as the documentary “Burn,” chronicling a year of Motor City firefighters’ camaraderie in the face of declining budgets and increasing fire calls, made its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.

“We are in no way looking to 'let the city' burn, this is about saving lives and money,” Austin said, according to a report Tuesday by NBC station WDIV in Detroit. “My department is strapped, the budget is strapped, and it’s time to look at a new way of doing things.”

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing is looking to trim $250 million and cut more than 2,500 jobs from the city’s 2012-13 budget. The cuts would lower the fire department budget below this fiscal year's $183 million.

Austin's proposal would allow vacant buildings to burn if they're more than 50 percent ablaze — as long as they're not a risk to inhabited structures and the weather is favorable.

Max Ortiz / The Detroit News via AP file

An arson investigator photographs a fire at a Detroit building complex at Sycamore and Grand River on March, 28 2012.

Bing’s office is not taking any position on Austin’s idea until he makes a formal proposal of his annual budget request, the mayor’s spokeswoman, Naomi Patton, told msnbc.com.

Detroit Fire Fighters Association President Daniel McNamara said he opposes Austin's idea of letting vacant homes burn, unless they're on a predetermined demolition list, WDIV reported.

“This is a long overdue idea, really,” Jo Robins Davis, a Detroit-area lawyer specializing in fire insurance claims, told msnbc.com. As long as they can keep the burns controlled, the idea would work for her, she said.

“They’re going to be torn down anyway,” she said of the vacant structures.

Austin has other ideas to save money, WDIV reported: Ask the U.S. Navy's construction division, the Seabees, to level 10,000 vacant and dilapidated homes; or create a demolition unit in the Fire Department to use heavy equipment to level the remnants of newly burned buildings.

Detroit has 80,000 abandoned structures, "Burn" filmmakers Tom Putnam and Brenna Sanchez say.

Austin said 40 to 60 percent of the fires in Detroit are in vacant structures. Last year alone, the Fire Department fielded 30,000 fire calls. The city of 714,000 sees 30 structure fires a day. In contrast, Los Angeles, a city of nearly 4 million, faces just 11 structure fires a day.

Watch US News crime videos on msnbc.com

To illuminate the obstacles that Detroit firefighters face, filmmakers Putnam and Sanchez documented a year in the life of the men and women tasked with saving their beloved city. The film features video shot by the firefighters with cameras attached to their helmets.

 “On our first two nights filming, we went to 21 structure fires with one engine company,” recalled Putnam, who said that he and Sanchez were inspired by the 2008 death of Detroit firefighter Walter Harris.

Burned on purpose
Arson in Detroit rose in 2010 to 1,082 incidents, up from 636 the year earlier, according to FBI crime statistics. Insurance companies paid $237.8 million for damage caused by arsons or suspicious blazes in 2010, the Detroit News reported.

Why is arson so frequent?

“I think Detroit's a place where people feel disenfranchised and there aren't a lot of ways to express themselves,” Putnam told NBC News. The filmmaker broke the reasons down into categories: arson for profit, homeowners who are upside down on their mortgages, and arson for revenge. Other times it’s just arson for kicks. “Like one of the firefighters says, ‘a gallon of gasoline is cheaper than a movie ticket,’” Putnam said.

Scrappers, who strip vacant buildings of valuable materials, are also a problem. After stripping away all metal piping, they can leave an exposed gas line to catch fire, which is what happened April 10, when fire destroyed two abandoned buildings and damaged the occupied family home of Tiffanie Alston, 31.  

She grabbed her children — 9, 10 and 11 years old — and then headed to the basement to help her 61-year-old father.

"People go in there and scrap all the time, and it was just a matter of time till it got set on fire," she told The Detroit News.

In the 1980s, Detroit was known for Devil’s Night fires, which peaked in 1984 with more than 800 fires over Halloween. In 1985, an Angel’s Night campaign began to counter the arsons. Firefighters responded to only 94 calls Oct. 29-31, 2011, according to the mayor’s office.

'Katrina without the hurricane'
Wide swaths of Detroit consist of scattered occupied homes surrounded by boarded-up structures, burned-out buildings and weed-covered vacant lots, WDIV reported.

The city’s population, which peaked when the post-World War II auto industry boomed in the 1950s at nearly 2 million people, has dwindled. Now Detroit’s population has plummeted to 714,000, the Census reported last year.

As one firefighter in the film put it, “This has been Katrina without the hurricane.”

Now Bing’s planned budget cuts could make firefighters' jobs even tougher. With starting salaries at approximately $30,000 a year, most firefighters already have second jobs.

From their extensive time with the Fire Department, Putnam and Sanchez saw firsthand the real impact the city’s budget problems had on the firefighters. Many of their boots were secured with duct tape, some were missing gloves, and they were still cutting holes in roofs with axes, the filmmakers said.

“I think we think that's all being taken care of, and it's not being taken care of,” said Sanchez. “We need to be there for them because they're always there for us.”

Funding for the film came from corporate sponsors like General Motors and an outpouring of donations from supporters who saw preview clips online. To do their part, Putnam and Sanchez  are donating portion of any proceeds from the film to the Leary Firefighters Foundation to help supply firefighters with equipment.

For Putnam, the story of this one city’s firefighters is symbolic of what the rest of the country’s fire departments may soon be facing, as budget are slashed in almost every state. And Putnam and Sanchez want people to remember that, as heroic as their work may be, firefighters are human after all.

“People tend to think of firefighters as being indestructible,” Putnam said. “They're not indestructible. If you don't give them the equipment they need and you send them into situations they shouldn't be going into, they can get hurt and they can get killed. And it's easy to forget that.”

Follow the film on Facebook here, or on its website, here.

Follow Jim Gold on Facebook here. Follow Yardena Schwartz here.

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Will Turner, 94, has never had an emergency room experience quite like this.

At Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, he found thick mattresses to prevent bedsores, skid-proof floors, and curtains designed to produce less noise. It’s only a few examples of the features designed specifically for senior citizens. 

“This is very far from the tumultuous feeling you have in other emergency rooms,” Turner said. “The others, there’s clatter going on, there’s litter, and people walk by who never look in your direction to see if you need something. This is different.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, individuals 65 years and older typically make up nearly 25 percent of adult emergency room visits. The creation of the geriatric centered emergency department, or geri-ed, at Mount Sinai Hospital represents a shift towards catering to the health needs of the growing aging population. 

Mount Sinai’s geri-ed follows the opening of a similar one at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson, N.J., three years ago. More than 50 such departments will be opening in the health care system’s hospitals from New Jersey to California, according to Dr. Mark Rosenberg, the chief of geriatric emergency medicine at St. Joseph's.  Rosenberg, who also serves as chairman of the American College of Emergency Medicine's (ACEP) geriatric section, has assisted many efforts to build geriatric emergency departments, from hospital systems to emergency medicine management groups.

“I predict that hundreds of ED’s will move in this direction over the next several years,” Rosenberg said.

Since the creation of Mount Sinai’s unit on Feb. 17, older patients coming to the general emergency room are moved to the geri-ed, as long as they meet a certain number of clinical criteria, such as ability to remember their names or not needing resuscitation. In each of the eight bedrooms and six exam rooms, patients experience a quieter and calmer setting where they can wait and receive care from professionals specially trained in elderly care.

Dr. Kevin Baumlin, the vice chairman of emergency medicine at Mount Sinai, received inspiration for this facility from personal experience, when his grandmother broke her pelvis and was sent to a regular emergency room.

“It was really frustrating that no one seemed to be paying attention to her, that she was kind of lost in the shuffle,” he said.

Baumlin noticed the discrepancy – pediatric emergency departments have bright primary colors, toys, and child specialists tailored towards younger patients, but nothing similar existed for the elderly, who have equally specific needs.

The geriatric emergency department Baumlin spearheaded was designed with the intention of creating a safer and calmer atmosphere for the older demographic, he said. An example of the attention to detail is highlighted by the installation of fake skylights in the unit. Elderly patients, especially if they have dementia, tend to become confused in general emergency rooms that are brightly lit 24 hours a day. The Mount Sinai geri-ed is outfitted with skylights that tell elderly brains what time of day it is, and helps them adjust their body’s sleep and wake patterns.

A unique feature of the geri-ed is what Baumlin calls the geriPad – iPads that allow the patient and nurse to videochat for clinical needs. Requesting juice or food is as easy as a touch of a button on the screen.

Response to the new unit has been positive, and patient satisfaction ratings have been very high.

Turner is one of those satisfied customers. “I’m overwhelmed at the interest, the warmth and the service at this emergency room,” he said. “This is an extraordinary experience.”

Michelle Melnick contributed to this report.

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News commentary

Those who have been in combat will testify to the catastrophic insults to the body that modern weapons can inflict. War is horrifying, and nothing can prepare the novice for the destruction that it can cause. Nor do we easily get used to the images of it, and they stay with us forever.

Recently released by the Los Angeles Times, the grisly photos of soldiers posing with the remains of dead Taliban fighters  have raised a variety of observations: From the notion that they are similar to the harmless pranks of adolescents to the assessment that their publication will be a catastrophe for the American mission in Afghanistan.

As with most extremes, neither is the case. We should also reject the argument that this incident, the burning of Korans and the deliberate murder of women and children, such as those allegedly carried out by Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, are all the same. 

No excuses
Here are the facts: The pictures are about two years old and were of Taliban fighters killed when a bomb they were putting into position detonated prematurely. The photos were sent to the Times by someone who said he wanted to highlight the threat to our troops caused by the poor leadership of the unit, a part of the 82nd Airborne Division.

But, although the Times suggested that the concern was merely inadequate physical security rather than a climate of generally weak discipline, it is the latter issue that is the most striking.

When the Times notified the Defense Department that it had the photos, the Pentagon asked the paper not to publish them, arguing that they would incite the enemy to attack Americans. The Times responded that it had an obligation to publish them, citing their readers' right to be informed.

In my view, both the Defense Department and the newspaper are full of baloney: The Taliban don't need any encouragement to attack us, and a big part of the motivation of the Los Angeles Times is to sell newspapers.

More nuanced has been comment from some quarters that the troops, who were mugging for the camera, were letting off the steam that accumulates under the duress of war; that their actions were in response to having lost buddies to the mindless ferocity of the Taliban.

While these are understandable reasons, they are not excuses, of course, and the paratroopers' actions were publicly decried by government officials. Many cited long-standing rules, promulgated after similarly embarrassing episodes, stating that such antics are impermissible.

Lack of leadership
But the truth is that you can't merely legislate against dumb behavior. In and out of combat, good units get that way because they are well led.

Poor leadership can create poor units in a very short period of time, particularly under stress. While good leadership can bring any organization through the most horrendous circumstances with only physical scars.

The leadership of the brigade in the 82nd that is at the center of this photo controversy was evidently already known as weak by the chain-of-command above it. There are many military organizations that have endured more harrowing circumstances with less damage to discipline.

It is not easy being a leader in uniform, but there is a responsibility attached to it that is found nowhere else in society. Military service is a sacrifice and those who volunteer for it are our patriots. But service is no game, and because so much is at stake, standards of deportment must be extremely high.

We are frequently reminded of it, but it bears repeating nonetheless: a commander is responsible for everything that happens or fails to happen in his unit, and it is he who sets the standards in his organization. Accepting less than professional behavior will minimize the service and sacrifice of those who have taken seriously their responsibilities as the guardians of our freedom.

Col. Jack Jacobs was awarded the Medal of Honor for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty” in the battle he describes above. His first assignment in the Army, in 1966-1967, was in Company C, 2nd Battalion (Airborne) 505th Infantry of the 82nd Airborne Division, the same division as the troops in this incident.

Click here to read the complete Medal of Honor citation. 

He is the author of a memoir: “If Not Now, When? Duty and Sacrifice in America’s Time of Need”

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What we're following: 

- U.S. condemns troops who allegedly posed with dead suicide bombers in Afghanistan

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Good morning, here's where we begin: 

- U.S. prepares for last major Afghanistan offensive

- Space shuttle Discovery takes final flight

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By Kevin Tibbles
NBC News correspondent

CHICAGO -- Stan Wandersee has lived in the same house in St. Paul, Minn., for 50 years; and he’s never had any new neighbors quite as special as the ones who’ve moved in this spring. High up a tree, across the street, is a family of bald eagles.

“This is a gift of nature that has been bestowed upon us,” he said.

There was a time in America when the bald eagle was on the endangered species list and facing extinction. The deadly combination of pesticides (namely DDT), and urban sprawl, had all but driven these magnificent birds out of the lower 48 states. In the mid-60s just 450 nesting pairs remained.

“DDT was a really big problem for the bald eagle,” said Megan Ross of Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo. “Bald eagles in particular were not able to form appropriate shells, and so when they weren’t able to reproduce their numbers really plummeted.

Fortunately for the birds, and for us, times have changed. DDT was banned nationwide in 1972 and, in many cases, humans are starting to pay more attention to their natural surroundings. Today this majestic symbol of America is thriving; so much so, it is returning to areas it fled decades ago.

In the case of Chicago…make that 100 years!

According to wildlife officials in Cook County, where Chicago is situated, there has not been a bald eagle nest in more than a century. This year that changed. Less than a half-hour from the skyscrapers and bustle of the Windy City’s urban ‘Loop’ there sits an eagle's nest perched way up in the trees of a local forest preserve.

Chris Merenowicz, assistant director of resource management at the preserve, nimbly made his way through the underbrush; guided NBC News to the side of a hidden little lake that sits not far from a busy thoroughfare. He stopped and brought his binoculars to his eyes and whispered: “She’s in there looking at us.”

One hundred yards or so on the far bank is a massive wooden structure that is more tree fort than nest. The bright white head is visible for all to see.

“To see a pair carry off a nest like this within 30 minutes of downtown Chicago is unbelievable!” he said.

And for Merenowicz, a pair of eagles settling down in this neck of the woods is a wonderful confirmation. “I think it’s the environment we’re growing up in right now. A whole new generation who are more aware of the environmental ethic. That’s what’s gonna get us over the hump that we were behind before.”

The eagle is of such interest that when a pair built a nest at the Alcoa facility in Davenport, Iowa the employees set up a web cam to monitor their progress. The eggs were laid, and hatched. The eaglets are thriving; and millions have tuned in to watch along the way.

Today there are more than 9,000 nesting pairs of bald eagles in the lower 48 states and, who knows, maybe you too could be as lucky as Stan Wandersee and find a couple taking residence across from your home.

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