By Erica Ayisi, Writer, NBC News

This year the tiny pastel treats known as Peeps turn 60 and they're still as popular as ever. From Peeps diorama contests to their prevalence on supermarket shelves during Easter season, they've become a cultural phenomenon.

Almost everyone has an opinion on the sweet chicks and bunnies. But regardless of whether you eat them, decorate them or avoid them entirely, the spongy, sugar-filled, marshmallow candy has almost taken on a life of its own.

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Here are five facts about Peeps you may not know:

• As sweet as they are, Peeps are 100 percent fat free. Each one is 32 calories. A serving size -- five peeps -- contains 34 grams of sugar.        
• Some adventurous home chefs have discovered different ways to use Peeps as ingredients. A Peep-uccino involves dunking a Peep in coffee instead of adding a packet of sugar, or you can add Peeps to sweet desserts like ambrosia salad.
• According to Just Born, Inc., the company that owns and manufactures Peeps, 2 billion Peeps are made for Easter, Christmas, Halloween and Valentine’s Day combined. In 2012, 1 billion Peeps were made for Easter alone.
• Peeps had wings when they were originally created. Their wings were clipped years later to allow for a more pristine look and allow for easier packaging, according to Just Born publicist Ellie Deardorff.
• Sam Born, the founder of Just Born, Inc., was a Russian immigrant who made and sold candy. He purchased a company in the early 1950s that made marshmallow pastries by hand. The women making them called the treats Peeps during Easter. He studied their method and created a machine that would make the pastries rather than use a pastry tube.

By JoNel Aleccia, Senior Writer, NBC News

Ashyle Horton had volunteered in the past for the program that runs the University of Arkansas campus food pantry, but showing up as a client was an entirely different experience.

“I was very fearful and nervous,” said Horton, 22. “It felt so weird going to a food pantry to get help.”

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The graduating senior says she desperately needed the pasta, rice and other staples on the food bank shelves, but she worried that others might judge her, that they would think she ought to be able to get by on her own.

“I never thought that I would be struggling as much as I have this year,” said Horton, whose already-stretched income dropped abruptly when her hours were cut at the disability services agency where she works.

Suddenly, she found herself among the 50 million people in the U.S. who live in food-insecure households each year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Pushing past the stigma of need was a hurdle for Horton — as it is for many who find themselves in that situation, says Angela Oxford, director for the Fayetteville school’s Center for Community Engagement.

Oxford is among the ranks of local, state and federal experts — officials from program managers to academic researchers — who work to reduce the onus of needing help.

“There is a stigma in that people just want to be able to take care of themselves,” Oxford said. “People don’t want to have to get assistance.”

Across the U.S., safety-net programs aimed at reaching the nearly 1 in 7 Americans living in poverty struggle to reach those in need. Food stamp enrollment climbed to record levels following the recent recession, with nearly 48 million participants in December 2012. 

Still, 1 in 4 people who are eligible for food stamps don't sign up, on average, the USDA says. Participation drops sharply in certain subgroups, as well. Only 34 percent of seniors and 60 percent of working poor households who could receive food stamps actually do, the USDA says.

That’s largely because of the perceived shame of taking a hand-out, researchers say.

“Stigma seems to be a big barrier to participation,” said Colleen Flaherty Manchester, an assistant professor of management at the University of Minnesota who studies the issue. “We find it to be quite substantial.”

In fact, psychological barriers appear to be three times greater than time costs — the effort and hassle it takes to enroll — in determining whether people seek benefits, Manchester said.

“I think it has to do with feelings of reduced self-efficacy, reduced self-esteem, psychological pressure from going against the social norm,” she said.

Federal officials have tried to tackle the stigma issue in recent years. First they gave the Food Stamp Program a catchy new name -- SNAP, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Then they traded conspicuous food stamp coupons for discreet electronic benefit cards.

The USDA now runs cheery radio ads touting SNAP as a nutrition program, not a welfare plan, and the agency has worked to ease red tape and to reach out to underserved populations.

As a result, some experts say that stigma about receiving benefits is less than it was a dozen years ago, when states like New York erected complicated barriers to simply apply for the aid.

“I think stigma in general has been falling as a quotient in affecting social behavior,” said Thomas Fomby, a professor of economics at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, who has just launched a research project into the causes of hunger in North Texas.

Others, however, say there’s still considerable room for improvement.

“Have you ever been to a DHS office?” asked Oxford, referring to state department of human services offices. Even with improvements, potential participants may face long lines, complicated paperwork and embarrassing questions about income and assets.

But critics of the federal food program believe that it should be more difficult to get government benefits. They take aim at SNAP's ballooning numbers and its $78 billion a year cost.

“It remains a program that discourages work, rewards idleness and promotes long-term dependence,” the conservative Heritage Foundation’s Robert Rector and Katherine Bradley wrote last summer.

Other critics argue that it should be the role of churches and charities, not the government, to provide food to people in need.

That would include the Arkansas campus food pantry, which is one of 50 college and university programs that have sprung up nationwide. There, as elsewhere, the emphasis is on offering help without rubbing it in, Oxford said.

No one will eyeball a student’s laptop and cell phone and figure that he or she is a rich kid trying to scam the system, she said. Students can apply discreetly online for food, there’s rarely a long waiting line — and they don’t get standard-issue boxes of food. Instead, clients are allowed to choose the foods they want from the pantry shelves.

“That’s part of the dignity piece,” Oxford said.

For Ashyle Horton, her need for the food pantry may end with graduation this spring. She has applied for City Year, a national service program, and she hopes to pursue a master’s degree after that. But her months of accepting pasta and rice from the pantry have given her more empathy for others in that situation, she says.

"I don’t like to tell people when I’m in need,” she said. “I like to help other people.”

Related stories: 

• 'In Plain Sight:' Series tackles hidden poverty in America
• 'By the Grace of God:' How workers survive on $7.25 an hour

 

By Jamie Novogrod, Producer, NBC Nightly News

NEW YORK -- Andy and Christina Fox, retirees living in Maryland, were shocked when they received a letter in late 2011 from a small life insurance company in the Midwest.

"To be honest with you, we thought it was a scam," Chris says. "It was five years after my father had passed. We had no knowledge of any insurance policies whatsoever."

It was no scam. It turned out that Chris's father -- an airplane mechanic and pilot -- had left thousands of dollars in a life insurance policy and never told his family.

"Final request," the letter announced. According to law, the money would soon be considered abandoned and turned over to state authorities.

How to find unclaimed life insurance benefits

Chris never knew the money existed because her mother had been named in the policy. But Chris's mother had since died, too, and Chris had sold her parents' Missouri home. Earlier notifications slipped through the cracks until the final request found its way to Maryland.

The letter set the Foxes off on a journey. To recover the policy, they hired a lawyer to create an estate for Chris's mother. They made countless phone calls. Scouring a Missouri unclaimed property database, Chris learned there was even more money out there. In sum, her father had taken out three life insurance policies, worth about $48,000 total.

"You had to look at the generation that he came out of. You're talking about the depression," Chris says. "People that didn't have any money at all didn't put it one particular place. They took small bits and put it in several different places."

The Foxes' experience isn't unique. According to a recent study in Consumer Reports, there's a one-in-600 chance that you're owed unclaimed life insurance money. Those are better odds than winning $100 on a Powerball ticket.

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"The average benefit that's waiting to be collected is only about $2,000. But some of them are up to $300,000," says Jeff Blyskal, a senior editor at Consumer Reports and the author of the study. According to Consumer Reports, the total amount of unclaimed life insurance money nationwide is upwards of $1 billion.

The breadth of the problem has come to the attention of authorities, too.

Regulators set up a multi-state task-force in 2011, and last year major life insurance companies began paying millions of dollars in settlement fees and back benefits. The money, flowing into state unclaimed property offices across the country, comes after officials said that companies regularly delay finding beneficiaries of unclaimed money.

In January, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that more than $200 million had been collected for beneficiaries in his state. Florida, which led the multi-state investigation, has collected at least $51 million in back benefits -- and hundreds of millions of dollars more in fines. Other states that have collected money include California, Illinois, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania.

"When Floridians put their family's needs in another's hands, they have a right to know their company will deliver on its promises and be transparent in its dealings," Florida's insurance commissioner, Kevin McCarty said in a statement.

As a result of the settlements, companies have agreed to perform regular checks against the so-called Death Master File -- the electronic record the federal government uses to track Social Security recipients.

Among the companies that have reached settlements:

-- AIG reached an $11 million settlement with multiple states and has paid more than $100 million to beneficiaries who had not previously filed a claim;

-- Nationwide reached a $7.2 million settlement and has paid about $144 million to beneficiaries;

-- and MetLife paid $40 million in settlement money, and tells NBC News it is "on track with... remitting policy proceeds" to beneficiaries.

But critics say the life insurance industry should do even more.

"If the insurance company, or any company, wants to find you to collect a bill, for example, they have a pretty easy time doing it, through the credit bureaus and such," says Jeff Blyskal of Consumer Reports. "If they can find you to pay a bill, they can find you to pay you your life insurance benefit."

The American Council of Life Insurers, an industry group, says companies are adapting to shifts in technology, including the government's electronic records.

According to the group, there are 150 million life insurance policies in force across the country. Last year alone, the group says, the industry paid a total of $62 billion dollars in claims.

"While the amount of unclaimed life insurance benefits at issue represents a very small percentage of total claims paid, we know the percentages represent real people," the group said in a statement.

Read the full statement from the American Council of Life Insurers

Mary Jo Hudson, a spokeswoman for the group, added during an interview that it's not uncommon for months to pass before companies hear from beneficiaries. “Within a reasonable amount of time -- 18 months -- people would make a claim, so we would wait," Hudson said. "Often, people don't file a claim right after someone is deceased because of grieving issues."

Now, regulators are looking to draft model legislation that would require all life insurance companies to locate and pay beneficiaries faster.

Meanwhile, both critics and representatives of the life insurance industry agree that it's vital for policy holders to discuss their plans with family and loved ones.

"One of the problems with this whole issue is that it involves death, and people don't like to talk about death," Jeff Blyskal says.  "But you really should. As you're getting older, if you have a life insurance policy, you should let your family know about what they're entitled to."

ACLI, the industry group, is offering a free website it hopes will makes such conversations easier, where users can put information in one place and share it with family and loved ones.

After the Foxes collected their money, they distributed it evenly among Chris's sisters. Chris and Andy Fox kept $16,000.

"I took my share, and hopefully invested it wisely," Chris says. "We'll use that to send my grandchildren to college."

TEL AVIV — On a wide beach in Tel Aviv, I recently watched two Israeli men — wearing tight neon bathing suits that would make many Americans blush — play a game of paddle ball. They impressively smashed their serves and volleys with decisive forehands and backhands and dove in the sand to make saves.

A few feet away, a couple of young women in skimpy bikinis with tattoos on their ankles and shoulders stretched into yoga positions in the shade of a wooden gazebo.

You can buy ice cream and cold beer on the beach and nobody seems to litter.

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If Tel Aviv’s beachfront sounds like a island of paradise in the midst of the turbulent Middle East — that’s because it is. And Israeli officials intend to keep it that way.

While the chaos unleashed by the Arab Spring continues to reverberate across the region, Israel, a small country the size of New Jersey, has been busily building about 500 miles of fence, walls and barricades to keep the surrounding Arab world out.

Keeping a lid on Gaza
Just 45 miles south of the paddle ball players in neon, Hamas runs the Gaza Strip, the narrow Palestinian territory squeezed between Egypt and Israel. 

Hamas is a Palestinian political party with an aggressive militant wing. At its rallies, Hamas supporters routinely chant that one day they will destroy Israel and that Palestinians will return to their homes where Jews now live. Hamas has long been Israel's enemy, but in the wake of the Arab Spring, the group is empowered like never before.

Just last November, Hamas and Israel fought a brief war. Hamas launched rockets at southern Israel, and for the first time in the group’s history, at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Many of the rockets were shot down by Israel’s U.S.-funded Iron Dome missile defense system.

More than 150 Palestinians and at least six Israelis were killed in the fighting. But Hamas walked away with significant political recognition. 

Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi sent his prime minister to Gaza during the fighting to show solidarity with Hamas. That would never have happened under former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. 

Mubarak didn’t trust Hamas and kept them weak. In fact, during the previous, and far more severe, Gaza-Israel war in early 2009, Mubarak effectively helped Israel target Hamas by cutting off its border, denying escape and resupply routes. 

But ever since the Arab Spring reset the Middle East and unleashed anti-Israel passions that Arab strongmen — like Mubarak — once kept at bay, Israel feels threatened. And they are fortifying their defenses.

Gaza tunnel
Now getting in and out of the Gaza Strip is increasingly difficult and bizarre.   

When you exit Israel, you must first pass through a series of metal detectors and X-ray machines, before entering a long Israeli-controlled tunnel.

The tunnel is above ground, fenced in on both sides, and with a wire roof. It runs along the ground like a metal snake. It's about 20 feet wide and stretches for about a mile with a dog-leg turn in the middle. There are cement blocks in the tunnel so you can’t drive a car through it. You have to walk, dragging your bags. It feels like you’re passing through a wormhole from a beach community into a prison. 

Making the tunnel stranger still is its quiet loneliness. There aren’t any Israeli guards or officers in the tunnel. As you walk with your bags, every few hundred yards you come to a closed gate. A camera and microphone over the gate turn on as you approach. You call out to an unseen guard that you’d like to advance and, if he approves, the gate clicks open and you move to the next barrier.

Egypt fence
Beyond Gaza, about 100 miles to the southeast of the gazebos shading women on Tel Aviv’s beach, is Israel’s border with Egypt. For decades, the border was protected naturally by the bare and jagged Sinai Mountains and the open desert.  

But now with Mubarak gone, a metal snake is going up along the Egyptian border, too.  

Israel is building a 150 mile fence along the Egyptian border. It’s nearly finished — with only 6.2 miles left to go.

The fence has two layers, is 20 feet high and is topped with razor wire. It also plunges several feet under the sand, so you can’t dig underneath it. Israel clearly doesn’t feel the mountains and desert offer enough protection anymore.

The Wall
Back on the beach in Tel Aviv, few people talk about their increasingly hostile neighbors in Gaza and Egypt, or the fences that keep them out. But other barriers are even closer.

Just 40 miles east of Tel Aviv, a giant wall cuts off the West Bank — the landlocked Palestinian territory surrounded on three sides by Israel, and one side by Jordan. Palestinians call it the "apartheid wall" because it keeps them penned in. Israel built the wall during a spate of Hamas suicide attacks and since its construction the number of bombings in Israel has plummeted.

Keeping Syria out, too
About 100 miles north of the Tel Aviv, a new fence is going up along the border with Syria. Only about 10 miles of that barrier, which looks just like the one with Egypt, is finished. The rest is going up fast.

As I walked along the new fence with Syria with our cameraman and producer a few days ago, we were stopped by a group of Israeli border guards who politely told us to leave. 

The border guards, based on a hill overlooking the fence, told me they had seen fighting between Syrian government troops and rebels just a few hundred yards away from their base. The chief of staff of the Israeli military said at a conference this month that he believes it’s only a matter of time before armed factions in Syria turn their attention to Israel.

"We see terror organizations that are increasingly gaining footholds in the territory and they are fighting against Assad. Guess what? We’ll be next in line," said Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz.

'Fear index' down
As Israel waits for the political storm in the Arab world to pass, it has become a fortress nation, what some experts call a "garrison state." 

Perhaps it’s human nature, but living in a bubble has some advantages. Fences and walls can be effective and even soothing, at least for those who build them.

A study by Haifa University’s National Security Center published this month in the Israel newspaper Haaretz said Israelis have never felt more secure in their borders. The so-called annual "fear index” is at an all-time low. 

"People in Israel are simply optimistic. As a result of a hundred years of Zionism that met with difficult challenges, the public's conceptions are that we have overcome that, and that we will overcome it in the future," Prof. Gabriel Ben-Dor, the director of the study, told Haaretz.

But there’s twist. Israel’s Arab citizens, who may be more in touch with the profound changes in the region that they watch unfolding on Arabic-language television, were far less convinced about Israel’s security than Jewish respondents to the survey.

"It is possible the Arab population is seriously and intensively following what is happening across the border, and they judge the situation differently," said Ben-Dor.

The Israeli military is certainly aware that things have changed for Israel.

But that apparently hasn’t sunk in for most Israelis, or, just like people on the beaches of Tel Aviv, perhaps they don’t want to think about it.

Related:

Obama says 'there is still time' to find diplomatic solution to Iran nuke dispute; Netanyahu hints at impatience

Rough ride ahead for Obama as Palestinians, Israelis lukewarm over visit

'Suffocating in the streets': Chemical weapons attack reported in Syria

By Anthony Galloway, Supervising Producer, NBC News

Within minutes of being profiled on NBC Nightly News, John Butterill was at a loss.

The professional photographer had already received dozens of emails from hopeful people around the country – each physically challenged as a result of disease or age, and each inspired by the possibility of taking a virtual trip of a lifetime. Suddenly 150 more messages streamed in. 

“I would love to see the Grand Canyon,” wrote one viewer.

Others anticipated trips to faraway France, Stonehenge, Scotland, Africa, the Amazon River, Indonesia and the Great Wall of China.

With increased awareness of the virtual tours, Butterill says his organization, appropriately named Virtual Photo Walks, faces new financial challenges to keep up with growing demand.

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Using Google+, Butterill organizes live, interactive tours of destinations near and far, tapping a network of more than 200 professional volunteer photographers around the world who, he says, are “making the walk for those who can’t."

One woman, a self-described mom, wife and grandmother diagnosed with terminal cancer, could only dream of sand and water flowing through her toes with a tropical drink in her hand.

“I love the ocean and the beaches,” she wrote. “Thank you so much for considering me.”

Butterill founded Virtual Photo Walks in February 2012 and was later joined by technical partner Bruce Garber. As things go in the virtual world, the two have never met in person.

Now organizing photo walks has become Butterill's full-time priority, and he's donated his life savings to the cause.

“We will need significant donations as this is scaling out of control on its own,” said Butterill, who is seeking contributions and recently secured non-profit 501(c)(3) pending status for Virtual Photo Walks.

He says the emails and messages prove his effort is worth it.

“I rarely go out and this program sounds so wonderful because I would love to see what the outside world has to offer,” a person with fibromyalgia wrote.

Another letter, from a mother of three with systemic lupus read: “The only place I have always said I would like to go before I die is Australia but also want to see Europe, Asia and South America. I would love to see snow because I never have.”

One hopeful virtual tourist, diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, wrote: “If I catch a cold it could kill me so I’m not supposed to be in crowds or public places where people could be sick or contagious … I feel as though I could use these to see places that I’ll never be able to go.”

The letters were candid and personal, many detailing lives of hard work and sacrifice before being diagnosed with life-threatening or debilitating illnesses.

“The cancer has spread throughout my body and I’m currently undergoing chemotherapy,” a 50-year-old man wrote. “I saw this on the news tonight and I cannot tell you how wonderful this is! There is so much I’d like to see.”

“I have lupus and am very limited on what I can do and where I can go,” another letter read. “The only time I really ever leave my home is to go to the doctor. It makes my life difficult. I love nature and the outdoors, but it seems that chapter in my life is closed now.”

A disabled Army veteran wrote: “I would love to see around the world through your eyes.” 

One former photographer wrote that he was searching to find even a sliver of his former life. “I would love to see the birds I used to photograph through the lens once again.”

“This would be a lifesaver for my wanderlust and freedom which my cancer and rheumatoid arthritis has taken away from me,” wrote one person who used to travel frequently. “I would love to go anywhere you are going.”

Butterill hopes Virtual Photo Walks can help all of them fulfill their dreams.

By Norma Rubio, Producer, NBC News

While running a marathon used to be the ultimate way to push your body to the limit, there's a growing trend of pushing your body to more extreme levels of fitness -- such as obstacle racing.

These races combine trail running with tough physical and mental challenges such as crawling through mud under barbed wire, climbing over slippery walls, running with heavy objects, and even jumping over fiery hot coals.

The Spartan Race is one of several obstacle competitions around the world that have recently exploded in growth. "People like change and this is primal. It's getting back to our roots of playing in the mud and being a kid again. So, it's different, it's fun," says Mike Morris, vice president of production at Spartan Race.

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At a recent race in the desert of Fountain Hills, Ariz., Spartan racers trekked through nearly 5 miles of trails and 18 man-made obstacles. At the end of the race, runners fought one final battle with a Spartan before getting to the finish line.

But if you're thinking you're not cut out for this type of competition...think again. Spartan race organizers proudly pronounce it's an event for all people. "We have a kids' race, we have grandmothers, 70-year-old grandmothers, we have people that this is the first race they've ever done and they've lost 50 pounds and they show up and they can't believe the accomplishment," says Morris.

And then there are professional athletes like 35-year-old Hobie Call from Utah who quit his job to pursue racing full-time and has become arguably the most famous obstacle racer. "No matter how many times you do these races, like I said I've done over 30...and every time it's a unique race. You never run the same race over again."

For Angela Reynolds, a divorced mother of three, each race is an opportunity to overcome challenges. "When I first started I couldn't climb the rope and I had to learn to teach myself and set one up in my garage so I could learn how to do that."

Other extreme challenges include the Tough Mudder, where racers run through live wires or plunge into icy pools.

SealFit mimics elite Navy Seal training, including lifting massive logs.

And if you prefer a fear factor, Run For Your Lives, takes you on a 5K race from zombies -- well, people dressed up as zombies. 

For the artistic-minded, Cirque School offers training in acrobatics, aerial fabric tricks and trapeze. Aloysia Gavre, founder of Cirque School LA, insists this type of workout is for anyone.

To participate in any of these events, however, you'll likely need to sign a waiver indicating the risks. 

But it's clear that these days, many are more than willing to take on those risks and face the challenges that extreme fitness requires.

By John Boxley, Producer, NBC News

SAN PEDRO, Calif. -- Along Southern California's pristine coastline, ailing sea lions are turning up in record numbers.

"We have a lot of little pups this year," said veterinarian Lauren Palmer, who is nursing them back to health. Most are about eight months old, she said, and appear dehydrated and malnourished, having trouble adjusting to life away from mom. For some reason many pups are leaving their mothers early. It's not clear why.

Usually, around this time of year, there might be a dozen sick sea lions in San Pedro, said David Bard, operations director for the San Pedro Marine Mammal Care Center. But so far, the care center has taken in nearly 200 and counting. Last week alone, there were 50 new cases.

"It’s a pretty big spike,” he said.

The last big spike was in 2009 when the care center took more than 500 sick animals, but most of those were elephant seals. Researchers say that was due to El Nino conditions.

Looking for answers
During a tour of the facility, Bard pointed to a group of new arrivals.

"You can see the activity level of these fellows is a little low, they don’t have as much energy," he said. There were about 20 pups inside a small pen area, each looked quite lethargic.

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So, what’s happening to the sea lions this year? So far nobody knows. There are plenty of theories, however, such as food shortages, climate change or simply an increase in the number of sea lion births.

"We are not seeing a disease outbreak among these animals or any obvious underlying cause," Bard said.

So, researchers continue to collect data and blood samples from the sea lions, looking for answers.

"We are very, very busy," said Palmer.

When asked if she feels overwhelmed, she laughed and replied, “Some days, yes."

And San Pedro is not alone. Last week, the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach declared their organization in a “state of emergency” as it continues to see an onslaught of California sea lion pups in need of medical attention.  

“We are seriously concerned about the pace at which animals are stranding, and having the resources to keep up," said Michele Hunter, director of animal care.

Pups recover with treatment
Bard, in San Pedro, says caring for so many sick animals has not only been taxing for staff and volunteers but also to the bottom line at their non-profit. But he said the Marine Mammal Care Center is committed to treating each case and responding to all the challenges, while "staying optimistic."

The biggest challenge right now, he says, is managing the dwindling budget. The animals are here for about two months at a cost of nearly $2,000 per sea lion.

There is some good news: most of the sea lions are responding to treatment, which begins with a liquid diet and fish smoothies. Later the pups are fed herring. Palmer says it's a great feeling knowing that they are making a difference and giving these animals a second chance.

Bard admits that watching them leave is hard.

"We put a lot of hard work and effort in treating them successfully, we take them down to the beach and then we see them go, probably forever,” he said. “It’s a rewarding feeling, most rewarding job I have ever held, but at the same time, it’s a little bit bittersweet."

The U.S. is deploying 14 new ground-based missile interceptors in Alaska to counter renewed nuclear threats from North Korea and Iran, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Friday.

The new interceptors will be based at Fort Greely, an Army launch site about 100 miles southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska, and are projected to be fully deployed by 2017, Hagel said. The additions will bring the U.S.-based ground interceptor deployment from 30 to 44, including four that are based in California.

---

That will boost U.S. missile defense capability by 50 percent and "make clear to the world that the United States stands firm against aggression," he said in a briefing at the Pentagon.

The announcement comes as North Korea has been making bellicose threats to void the armistice that ended the Korean War and launch a nuclear attack on the U.S. The U.S. and South Korea began annual military drills this week despite the North Korean threats.

Hagel said the U.S. would also shift some "resources," which he didn't specify, from the delayed Aegis anti-missile program in Europe to U.S.-based defenses, saying the Aegis program was "lagging" because of reduced congressional funding. And he reiterated previously announced plans to add a second U.S. anti-ballistic missile radar installation in Japan.

Taking all of the moves together, "we will be able to add protection against missiles from Iran sooner while also proving protection against the threat from North Korea," he said.

Even before the announcement, Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., a member of the Armed Services Committee, criticized the news, saying it was too little and too late.

"I applaud the Obama administration's decision, but it shouldn't have taken the predictable saber-rattling from North Korea to bring this about," Ayotte said in a statement Friday. 

Pointing to Iran's nuclear program, Ayotte called on the Obama administration to "move expeditiously to construct an East Coast missile defense site."

"Americans living in the Eastern United States should have the same level of missile defense protection as those in the West," she said.

Courtney Kube and Kelly O'Donnell of NBC News contributed to this report. Follow M. Alex Johnson on Twitter and Facebook.

Watch US News videos on NBCNews.com

This story was originally published on Fri Mar 15, 2013 7:28 PM EDT

VATICAN CITY — Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected the first non-European pope in more than 1,000 years on Wednesday, signaling the beginning of a new era for a church combating scandal and internal strife.

Described as a conservative with "great compassion," the 76-year-old will be known as His Holiness Pope Francis. He will be installed at the Vatican on Tuesday.

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The new pontiff named himself after the humble Catholic friar St. Francis of Assisi. President Barack Obama hailed the new leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics as a "champion of the poor."

The first Latin American pope was introduced from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.

There was an audible gasp from the rain-soaked crowd - an indication that he had not been a widely tipped choice - followed by a roar and wild applause.

In Italian, he seemed to address his outsider status by joking: "As you know the duty of the conclave is to give Rome a bishop. It seems that my brother cardinals went almost to the end of the world."

“Pray for me and I will see you soon," he added, asking Catholics to also pray for his predecessor Benedict XVI, who abdicated on Feb. 28. "Have a good evening and rest well.”

His first act on Thursday will be to visit his predecessor, the Pope Emeritus, New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan told reporters later.

A vocal advocate for Argentina’s poor during the economic crises that struck the country during the 1970s, Francis is the first Jesuit pope.

Vote: Was Pope Francis a good choice?

Known for his humility, Francis is the son of a railway worker and one of five siblings. He has a chemistry degree.

Francis has only one fully-functioning lung, the other having been partially removed due to an infection when he was a teenager. 

He prizes simplicity and is expected to encourage priests to do shoe-leather evangelization, according to his biographer.

Shortly after his election, Francis skipped the limousine and chose instead to ride on the last shuttle bus with other cardinals to go back to the Vatican for a meal.

"And as the last bus pulls up, guess who gets off? It's Pope Francis. I guess he told the driver 'That's OK, I'll just go with the boys,'" Dolan told reporters.

Later, during the dinner, Dolan said Francis showed his humorous side.

"We toasted him and when he toasted us he said: 'May God forgive you,' which brought the house down," he said.

About an hour before Francis emerged on the balcony, white smoke rose above the Sistine Chapel and bells rang out across Rome to signal a decision had been made.

The unveiling of the new pope was moment of pure joy for the 100,000 pilgrims, tourists and other onlookers in St Peter's Square.  

"Who is this?" asked Deirdre Sweeney from Boston, Mass., when Francis first walked onto the balcony.

"Argentinian!" shouted a man nearby.

 “I think this is wonderful,” said Sweeney’s husband, Kevin. “It's an incredible breakthrough. It's a great recognition for the church that the church is not euro-centric anymore."

Another man shouted: "It’s very gutsy that he chose the name Francis, he’s going to be the first Francis. He wants to be a humble pope and build the church up, from a time of ruin, like St. Francis of Assisi."

Smoke billowed from the chimney at 7:07 p.m. local time (2:07 p.m. ET) on the second day of behind-closed-doors voting.

The cardinals are thought to have taken five ballots to reach the two-thirds of the vote necessary for a decision.

The new pontiff's debut was heralded by a Latin announcement beginning with the phrase "Habemus Papam!" meaning, "We have a pope!"

George Weigel, NBC News' Vatican analyst, said Francis would be "a great defender of religion around the world.”

“The papacy has moved to the New World. The church has a new pope with a new name,” he added. “I think it speaks to the church’s commitment to the poor of the world and compassion in a world that often needs a lot of healing.”

Obama said the choice of the first pope from the Americas spoke "to the strength and vitality" of a region "that is increasingly shaping our world."

"Alongside millions of Hispanic Americans, those of us in the United States share the joy of this historic day," the president said in a statement.

Now known as Pope Emeritus, Francis' predecessor Benedict watched Wednesday's events from a temporary lakeside residence at Castel Gandolfo while his permanent living quarters inside Vatican City are refurbished.

The behind-the-scenes ballot process that took place in the Sistine Chapel should still remain a secret. Both the cardinals and staff working alongside them swore an oath of secrecy as the conclave got under way, with the threat of ex-communication for anyone breaking the church's ancient code.

NBC News' Yuka Tachibana and Richard O'Kelly, and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Full coverage of Pope Francis from NBC News

 

This story was originally published on Wed Mar 13, 2013 4:14 AM EDT

As the papal conclave continued in Rome, wrapped in mystery and secrecy, there was no indication that the 115 cardinals will be deciding between just a couple of front-runners in choosing a successor to Pope Benedict XVI.

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Milan's Cardinal Angelo Scola and Brazil's Cardinal Odilo Scherer are names that keep cropping up on the lists of papabili, but NBC News Vatican analyst George Weigel says no fewer than 20 men could get votes when balloting starts Tuesday in the Sistine Chapel.

They come from the traditional bastions of Italy, from growth areas like sub-Saharan Africa, even from the United States. Only time — and a puff of white smoke — will reveal which one will emerge as leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics.

Here, in alphabetical order, are the princes of the church who Weigel says could be considered for the top job:

Angelo Bagnasco: The archbishop of Genoa, he also heads the influential conference of Italian bishops. Considered an intellectual heavyweight with a teaching background in metaphysics, he was described as a "pragmatic centrist" by the National Catholic Reporter. Bagnasco, 70, received death threats after hard-line remarks against same-sex marriages in 2007.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio: The archbishop of Buenos Aires is the Argentine-born son of an Italian railway worker. Seen as a compassionate conservative, he reportedly came in second during the 2005 balloting that ultimately elected Benedict XVI. The 76-year-old Jesuit prizes simplicity and humility and would encourage priests to do shoe-leather evangelization, his biographer says.

Giuseppe Betori: The archbishop of Florence, he has been a cardinal for just a year. As secretary-general of the Italian bishops conference, he "built a reputation for himself as a 'bridge builder' in relations between the Vatican and the Italian government," the Italian daily La Stampa reported. Betori, 66, survived a 2011 assassination attempt by an emotionally disturbed person.

Thomas Collins: The archbishop of Toronto was made a cardinal last year. A biblical scholar, he told an Italian newspaper that the biggest challenge facing the church is persecution in an increasingly secular society. Known for his media savvy and rousing sermons, Collins, 66, helped investigate the sex-abuse crisis in Ireland and sits on a Vatican council on education.

Timothy Dolan: The ebullient archbishop of New York is among the best-known cardinals in America and heads the important U.S. bishops conference. Dolan, 63, doesn't run from political controversy or the cameras. The Vatican has been impressed with his dynamic style, conservative chops and missionary zeal, but others may be wary of his effervescence.

Dominik Duka: Talk about a dramatic back story: the archbishop of Prague was forced to work secretly as a priest during 15 years of Communist rule — spending his days as a designer in a factory — and was even jailed for a year during an anti-religion crackdown. Duka, 66, has been active in getting church property returned in a nation where secularism reigns.

Willem Eijk: The archbishop of Utrecht in the Netherlands has two doctorates — one in medicine, one in philosophy — and is considered an expert on bioethics. Eijk, 59, issued a strong apology in 2011 after a commission found the Dutch church had bungled sex-abuse allegations in past decades.

Peter Erdo: The archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest in Hungary "has been on the ecclesiastical fast track his entire career," the National Catholic Reporter says. A canon lawyer, Erdo, 60, heads Europe's Catholic bishops and sits on key Vatican committees. In Budapest, he was known for encouraging lay missionaries to visit every home in a parish to invite the lapsed back to the church.

Sean O'Malley: The archbishop of Boston wears sandals and a hooded Capuchin monk's cassock and says he doesn't expect to trade them in for red shoes and white robes. But O'Malley, 68, has gotten high marks for his cleanup of Boston's sex-abuse mess and heads the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' high-profile pro-life committee.

John Onaiyekan: The archbishop of Abuja in Nigeria was hailed as "the Timothy Dolan of Africa" by the National Catholic Reporter for his big personality. Onaiyekan, 69, also has intellectual and moral heft and successfully pushed for Democratic elections in his homeland. "There's nothing to stop an African from being the pope," he said in Rome last week.

Marc Ouellet: The former archbishop of Quebec and current head of the powerful Congregation for Bishops, this Canadian cardinal is on many conclave short lists. A scholarly theologian who is fluent in six languages, Ouellet, 68, has plenty of experience in Latin America, where he taught, and the Vatican, where he essentially serves as a staff director.

George Pell: The son of pub owners, the archbishop of Sydney is seen as a straight-talking conservative with fans in the Vatican hierarchy. Pell, 71, raised eyebrows when he questioned Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI's decision to resign and suggested he was a better theologian than leader. He gets poor marks from sex-abuse victims' groups.

Albert Malcolm Ranjith: The archbishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka, he has strong Vatican ties and was close to Pope Benedict XVI. But the National Catholic Reporter said that Ranjith, 65, may be too traditional; he's against taking communion in the hand and is a fan of the Latin Mass.

Leonardo Sandri: He was born in Argentina and worked as a parish priest there, but Sandri, 69, spent years trotting the globe as a Vatican diplomat. From 2000 to 2007, he was the Vatican chief of staff and he now serves as prefect for the Congregation for Eastern Churches. He's well-liked but may be seen as a better No. 2 than pope.

Robert Sarah: The former archbishop of Conakry, Guinea, Sarah, 67, now heads Cor Unum, the Vatican's charitable arm. He's described as progressive on social justice issues and very conservative on hot-button topics like gays, contraception and abortion. Despite his Roman credentials, he isn't seen as a mover and shaker.

Christoph Schonborn: The archbishop of Vienna is "the closest thing to a wild card this time around," the National Catholic Reporter said. One of the more moderate candidates, Schonborn, 68, made waves a few years ago when he criticized powerful Cardinal Angelo Sodano for blocking a sex-abuse investigation. He comes from a noble family and speaks seven languages.

Angelo Scola: More than one list of papbili has Scola, 71, at the top. He headed the church in Venice, is now the archbishop of Milan, and has ties to the influential and conservative group Communion and Liberation. He's an expert in bioethics and has worked extensively on Catholic-Muslim relations. But he may lack the charisma to seal the deal.

Odilo Scherer: Born in Brazil to German immigrants, Scherer is archbishop of Sao Paulo but has solid Roman experience from his time as prefect at the Congregation for Bishops. The 63-year-old takes the subway to work and is active on Twitter. He's got moderate-conservative credentials but Catholicism is being challenged by Protestant churches on his home turf.

Luis Tagle: The archbishop of Manila has charisma, a preaching style that brings people to tears, social-media know-how and ties to Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI. But Tagle is only 55 years old and became a cardinal just four months ago so Asia's rising star might have to wait until the next conclave.

Peter Turkson: The former archbishop of Ghana now heads the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. Energetic and easy-going, Turkson, 64, has talked openly about the possibility of becoming pope — too openly, perhaps. He also lost points for clumsily screening a controversial video on Muslims at a Vatican synod. Despite all the attention he gets in the Italian press, Weigel says he's not likely to be a vote-getter.

The Associated Press, Reuters and the National Catholic Reporter contributed to this report

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This story was originally published on Tue Mar 12, 2013 3:59 AM EDT

 

NBC News Correspondent Kerry Sanders recently returned from Antarctica, where he chronicled the dramatic changes in the world's last wilderness. Below is his main report; you also can click on the map above for more dispatches from across the breathtaking seventh continent.

By Kerry Sanders, Correspondent, NBC News

ANTARCTIC PENINSULA — There are serious changes taking place here at the bottom of the world.

Increasingly, experts say, the ice is disappearing at a disturbing rate in the Antarctic Peninsula and that in turn impacts the future -- and perhaps the very existence — of at least half of the world’s 18 penguin species, who depend on ice and frigid waters that support krill, the penguin diet mainstay.

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"When cheetahs or lions get hunted, or elephants decline, there’s a big uproar. And I think, because you see penguins in large numbers [in some places] people are ignoring the larger rate of their decline," said Oxford University penguinologist Tom Hart. "The general public doesn't realize the penguins are declining so fast."

But it’s not just the penguins we have to worry about, Hart says, it’s the health of the planet itself.

"The last wilderness on Earth is impacted by us now," he said, describing the region’s decline as a "grave indicator" of what’s to come.

Life’s cycle disrupted for Antarctica’s penguins
It’s the end of the breeding cycle for most penguins here as summer comes to a close. The Gentoos, Adelies and Chinstraps are nudging their newborns from the rocks of Antarctica’s peninsula toward the waters of the Southern Ocean.

Experts say about 50 percent of the eggs will produce a penguin chick that makes it to sea. And about half of those will survive the hungry predators below, as they plunge into the frigid waters for their first swim. Leopard seals are lurking -- and for the newborns, avoiding their mortal enemy is not easy. Many will die. Those that do survive are subject to climate change that is threatening their food supply.

Hart has spent nearly a decade studying the creatures that have captured the world’s imagination for centuries. Each year, for three to four months, he positions himself along the Antarctic coast to observe, measure and chart penguin colonies. Some colonies have been followed since polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and his men headed here some 100 years ago.

"When you look at all penguins they are largely in trouble," said Hart. "We're so concerned because we're seeing massive changes to their populations. They’re probably not going to go extinct anytime soon, but the environment is changing very fast.

Chinstraps populations seem to have declined up to 50 percent in the last 30 years," he added.

Hart, like most experts, is cautious to speak in absolutes because the harsh environment here makes it difficult to get a clear picture of what’s happening.  Experts use time-lapse cameras and sit at computers, laboriously counting penguins one by one to compare colony sizes from year to year.

Krill decline quickly as sea ice disappears
Ice is the source of all life in Antarctica.  It may seem at odds to think that ice gives life, but when you connect the dots, it’s a straight line to a penguin’s belly.

Algae live on top of the ice and underneath it too, providing a grazing ground for the krill that amass beneath -- the way a raccoon chooses to hide in a garbage can. 

Krill mostly stay put under the frozen Southern Ocean.  But as the ice sheet disappears due to climate change, that habitat shrinks and moves further south. 

"The West Antarctic Peninsula has increased three degrees since 1951,” Hart said. "We’ve seen a large reduction in sea ice over the same period."

Although the climate has always undergone oscillations in temperature, Hart says the recent changes are happening much faster than normal.

Logically, less ice has resulted in less krill, say marine biologists.  And since krill is the main diet for penguins, seals and whales, less food has in turn meant fewer births.  That theory is widely accepted by scientists like French marine biologist Fabrice Genevois.

He says it’s mostly Americans, who have confused politics with science by questioning global climate change.

"We have all the information now, that's clear enough,” said Genevois. "There's no argument any more. You have to be either a liar or be crazy not to understand what we are doing to change the climate. We are responsible, that's for sure."

Add to that equation: Fishing. Less ice has opened areas to more fishing boats that in turn have targeted krill as a profitable catch.

There’s a 620,000 ton catch limit for krill in Antarctica, which is only about 1 percent of the total estimated mass in the region.

 

But it’s the location of the krill fisheries — all aggregated in the Antarctic Peninsula near the South Shetland Islands — that is the main cause of concern.

The boats increasingly drop their nets in the same waters where penguins search for food. The nets are not catching penguins indiscriminately but they are competing for the krill that the wildlife eats to survive.

Where do those captured krill end up? In part, they’re used as fish food at salmon farms, desirable because krill help color salmon “pink” which increases sales at the supermarket.

Click here and here for more on managing the krill catch.

Canary in a coal mine
The entire population of Emperor penguins, Chinstraps and Adelies live in Antarctica — if the ice continues to retreat those species are at risk. Meanwhile, the potential for disease outbreaks increases.  

"As regions of Antarctica warm it has much more potential as a petri dish," said Hart, citing disease from the north, in particular avian disease, as being a main concern. 

The penguins, marine biologists say, are giving us a warning. 

"We don't need to necessarily fear change," said marine biologist Maria Clauss, who works with tour company Quark Expeditions. But the penguin’s decline "will change the world as we know it," she said. "And we should not kid ourselves."

Day 1: Greeted by dirt, not ice

Day 2: Climate change decimates food supply for penguins

Day 3: Watching Mother Nature in action

Day 4: How to sleep outdoors in Antarctica

Finale: Trips to the seventh continent are not just for scientists

 

 

By Kristina Krohn, Medical Fellow, NBC News

Ed and Caroline Marks knew when they got engaged that they wanted a family.

“We talked about babies from that moment,” said Caroline. "We knew we wanted to settle down in the Midwest and raise a family.”

But the Cleveland couple never expected to be pioneers in a new method of in vitro fertilization.

They were both young and healthy, in their early 30s – but after a year of trying, they grew worried.

In July 2011 they decided to get help and Ed went to his doctor.  When he got the results, he “hit rock bottom,” said Caroline.

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Ed's sperm count was less than 90 percent of normal, and even then, the sperm he did have were of poor quality and motility. That’s when his doctor referred them to the Cleveland Clinic.

There they found the both had problems that could make conceiving difficult, but Ed’s problem was particularly worrisome. Although his chromosomes were normal, some of his sperm had two instances of chromosome 13 or 14, or were missing a 13 or 14 altogether.

“We felt like the odds were against us,” said Caroline. And she felt like her biological clock was ticking.

After six months working with the infertility specialists, the couple’s doctors chose to use a new technology called EmbyroScope that's allows researchers to monitor the development of fertilized eggs around the clock.

Two other companies have created devices that use similar technologies, but these are only being used experimentally and haven’t yet been FDA approved. 

EmbryoScope, developed by Unisense Fertilitech, was FDA approved in 2011. Ed and Caroline Marks became not only the first couple to use the technology at the Cleveland Clinic, but also the first to become pregnant with it.

Traditionally during IVF, embryos are removed from an incubator once a day for a few minutes to check if the embryo is growing appropriately.  But because embryos grow and change so quickly, researchers can miss important changes or problems by checking only once a day. In addition, taking an embryo out of the incubator risks exposing the sensitive embryo to the outside world.  

“With the EmbryoScope, you are doing continuous imaging,” said Dr. Nina Desai, an obstetrician at the Cleveland Clinic.  “There's a lot going on behind the scenes that, if you just had a single static observation per day, you would miss.”

The EmbryoScope has room for embryos from six different patients. Each couple gets a slide with little wells for up to 12 embryos. Because only six couples can use the EmbryoScope at a time, the clinic limits its use to high risk couples like the Marks with genetic problems who still are capable of producing 12 embryos.

“For an embryologist and a researcher, it's amazing,” said Desai. “We are learning a lot about embryos. We're seeing things that would not have been possible before.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control, women younger than 35 years old have a 41.5 percent chance of getting pregnant using traditional IVF.

Unisense Fertilitech claims that rate is higher with EmbryoScope.  The company’s latest study, published in the journal Fertility and Sterility in 2012, examined data from 7,305 cycles of IVF performed at clinics throughout Spain.  Nearly 54 percent of the women became pregnant when their embryos were selected for implantation after incubating in Embryscope, the company says, versus a pregnancy rate of 44.9 percent for those who used standard IVF.

Currently, the 14 facilities offering EmbryoScope charge patients the same price that they would for regular IVF. At the Cleveland Clinic it typically costs around $16,000 per attempt. 

After a year and a half of trying to become pregnant, Ed, 33, and Caroline, 32, are now the proud parents of twins Claire and Charlotte.  The girls were born in December 2012. And while the story of their birth will always be touched by technology, what Ed and Caroline see now is the family they always planned on.

“It was such a journey to get to have these two babies and I think to me that's love,” said Caroline.

The EmbryoScope, which costs medical facilities around $130,000, is being used in at least 26 countries including the following places in the United States:

• Fertility Centers of new England
• Boston IVF
• New York University Langone Medical Center
• New Hope Fertility, NYC
• Weill Cornell Medical Center, NYC
• Reproductive Biology Associates, Atlanta
• Shady Grove Fertility, Philadelphia
• A.R.T. Institute of Washington, Washington, D.C.
• Cleveland Clinic
• Mayo Clinic (MN)
• Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine
• A.R.T. Reproductive in Beverly Hills
• Pacific Reproductive in Torrance (LA area)
• Seattle Reproductive, Seattle WA

The EmbryoScope will also be coming to IVF Michigan in Rochester Hills, Mich., IVF Florida in Margate, Fla., and Wisconsin’s Reproductive Medicine Center at Froedtert Hospital, among other locations.

By Carlo Angerer, Producer, NBC News

NOVARA, Italy -- When the white smoke will mark the election of a new pope later this month, Adriano Stefanelli will stand at the ready with nails, leather and his hammer by his side.

Stefanelli, 64, is the pope’s shoemaker, commissioned by the Vatican, and he said he will work day and night to manufacture the next pope’s new custom-made shoes as quickly as possible.

“All I need to know is the shoe size and what color the new pope wants,” he said during an interview with NBC News in his small corner store in Novara, in northern Italy. “I hope to finish the shoes in about 10 days.”

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Normally the process takes about a month, with Stefanelli working on the special shoes during his free time. He makes a living by selling his line of shoes exclusively in his small shop, which his father founded in 1954 and where Stefanelli has been working since he was 14. The handmade shoes are only gifted to a small circle of special people picked by Stefanelli himself, a group that has included U.S. presidents.

 

Stefanelli created the flashy red shoes Pope Benedict XVI wore during most public audiences in the Vatican and on foreign trips. That garnered Benedict the title “Accessorizer of the Year” by Esquire Magazine in 2007.

Rumors abounded that the pope wore Prada. When the Italian fashion behemoth didn’t deny the rumors, the Vatican publicly announced that Stefanelli was the creator of the red shoes.

Stefanelli proudly showed us a letter from Benedict’s secretary, Georg Gänswein, requesting a new pair of shoes for the pope. Stefanelli doesn't charge the Vatican for the papal shoes; he calls the shoes a "regalo," Italian for gift, and said, “I’m not doing this for business purposes; I want to show the quality of Italian craftsmanship.”

And others have been impressed, as well. When President George W. Bush saw the pope’s red shoes during his U.S. visit in 2008, he immediately requested a pair in black. Stefanelli also sent shoes to the Obamas, receiving a thank you letter from the White House.

Stefanelli's decision to deliver shoes to the pope was prompted by Pope John Paul II’s illness.

“I began to think, 'What can I do to ease his pain?'” he said. “And the answer was that I can make shoes, so let’s make shoes. I started and made the first pair, they fit the pope well, and I continued until now.”

Stefanelli said he’s looking forward to making the next pope’s shoes, not only to show his craftsmanship, but also because it is a spiritual matter for this Catholic shoemaker.

“When you are working for the Holy Father, you try and do your best,” he said. “Spirituality is there because you are working for someone not only important but also charismatic and that has strength for the faithful – that has deep meaning.”

By Mandy Clark, Correspondent, NBC News

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN -- Severely outgunned, the battle was going badly. It seemed like certain defeat. Then, from out of the crowd stepped a young girl of around 14. She grabbed the pole from the fallen flag-bearer, held it up, and called out to her brothers-in-arms to fight to the death.

Though she was shot dead, her rallying cry was seen as the turning point of the 1880 Battle of Maiwand; a triumph for the Afghans, and a devastating loss for British forces during the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Her name was Malalai, Afghanistan’s Joan of Arc. 

“If you go back into history, before we only had one female soldier named Malalai, but now I have a lot of Malalais in my Special Forces,” said Colonel Jalauddin Yaftaly, who heads the elite units. There are more than 1,000 women in the Afghan Army – and about two dozen have made it into Special Forces. 

In a country where equality is still a huge unresolved issue, on the battlefield women are making huge strides. 

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Col. Yaftaly said he saw a need for women in the Special Forces to help conduct night raids. In 2011, he got permission to recruit women and has built up the female force to roughly 25, but says he needs more. Even their male colleagues say their work is essential. 

‘We do face death threats’
Night raids are considered the most dangerous: Commandos enter the homes of suspected insurgents under the cover of darkness.

The military says these missions are key in capturing Taliban commanders, but they are deeply controversial because it is considered culturally offensive for male troops to search female Afghans in their homes. Now, when possible, it’s women searching women. 

“Our duty is to go inside the houses, search the women and children, make them calm and get them out of danger,” said new 21-year-old recruit Zakia Halakim. 

Halakim was part of the Afghan police force when she was approached to try out for the Special Forces by Col. Yaftaly, who seeks the top women in the Afghan forces.

“My family supports me, they never told me not to do it,” she said. “They know it is important for Afghanistan.”  

On the firing range, Halakim is practicing with two female colleagues. Sporting dark sunglasses, a helmet and scarves wrapped round their faces, their identities are hidden. They have to be. Working alongside men has made them special targets. 

The women are paid the same as the men when they are on an operation. Right now, their role is limited to night raids. 

“We do face death threats because our work is outside of our culture but this is an important job,” said Halakim. 

Hoping for change
“As far as the culture in this country, no it’s not acceptable in this country at all,” said Mahbouba Seraj, an executive board member at the Afghan Women’s Network. “It goes against every single grain of belief of an Afghan man.” 

But Seraj believes these women might be able to change the way society thinks. 

“The most important thing is whether these women are going to do their jobs and really be effective ... are they really going to be saving lives of those women in the villages? If that is the outcome, then the whole view will change,” she said. 

In a training operation, the female Special Forces sweep the rooms for Afghan women. There could be hidden dangers, such as female suicide bombers. Their male colleagues say they are glad to have them. 

“We need our sisters as much as we need our brothers to join the army, police and Special Forces -- according to their interest -- and that will help us a lot,” said Agha Sharin Noori, an Afghan Special Forces soldier.

Brigadier General Mohammadzai Khatool is the only woman general in Afghanistan. During the Soviet occupation, she was a paratrooper with over 600 jumps -- but when the Taliban took over she was forced to leave the military and stay at home.

In 2002, after the fall of the Taliban, she was promoted to general. She believes women are an essential part of the military.  

“Men and women are like two wings of the one bird. Working together, both are trying to defend their country and their people,” she said. 

Seraj agrees. “These women are amongst the bravest in Afghanistan," she said. "I appreciate the first steps that they are taking so much. I wish I could be alive and be around to see them become generals in this country.”

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Osama bin Laden's son-in-law, who acted as a spokesman for al-Qaida, has been apprehended, transported to New York and charged with conspiracy to kill Americans, according to court documents unsealed Thursday.

Sulaiman Abu Ghaith appeared alongside bin Laden in a 2001 video in which they took responsibility for the 9/11 attacks and warned of more, before he dropped out of sight for more than a decade before his arrest.

"I commend our CIA and FBI, our allies in Jordan, and President Obama for their capture of al-Qaida spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith," said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., a member of the Homeland Security Committee, who first announced the news. 

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"I trust he received a vigorous interrogation, and will face swift and certain justice," added King, who is also chairman of the Sub-Committee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence.

Prosecutors say from at least May 2001 to around 2002, Abu Ghaith served alongside bin Laden, appearing with him and his then-deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, speaking on behalf of the terrorist organization and in support of its mission, and warning that attacks similar to those of September 11, 2001 would continue.

The government says around May 2001, Abu Ghaith urged individuals at a guest house in Kandahar, Afghanistan, to swear allegiance to bin Laden. On the evening of Sept. 11, 2001, after the terrorist attacks on the United States, bin Laden summoned Abu Ghaith and asked for his assistance. He agreed to provide it.

On the morning of Sept. 12, 2001, Abu Ghaith appeared with bin Laden and Zawahiri, and spoke on behalf of al-Qaida, warning the United States and its allies that "[a] great army is gathering against you" and called upon "the nation of Islam" to do battle against "the Jews, the Christians and the Americans," the court document says.

Also, after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Abu Ghaith delivered a speech in which he addressed the then-U.S. Secretary of State and warned that "the storms shall not stop, especially the Airplanes Storm," and advised Muslims, children, and opponents of the United States "not to board any aircraft and not to live in high rises."

Abu Ghaith arranged to be, and was, successfully smuggled from Afghanistan into Iran in 2002, where he spent most of the decade, U.S. officials said.

Even as government officials applauded the arrest of Abu Ghaith, his transport to the United States stirred controversy among lawmakers who were apparently caught by surprise by the news.

"We believe the administration's decision here to bring this person to New York City, if that's what's happened, without letting Congress know is a very bad precedent to set," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who held a press conference with Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.

"And when we find somebody like this, this close to bin Laden and the senior al-Qaida leadership, the last thing in the world we want to do, in my opinion, is put them in civilian court. This man should be in Guantanamo Bay," Ayotte said.

"So we're putting the administration on notice," said Graham. "We think that sneaking this guy into the country, clearly going around the intent of Congress when it comes to enemy combatants, will be challenged."

Earlier, in an interview on MSNBC, House Intelligence Chair Mike Rogers, R-Mich., strongly criticized the administration for bringing Abu Ghaith to the United States.

Rogers, a former FBI agent, said that Mirandizing a top al-Qaida suspect and bringing him to the United States for trial creates a host of problems — instead of sending him to the facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which was built to handle high value prisoners.

"Al-Qaida leaders captured on the battlefield should not be brought to the United States to stand trial," Rogers said. "We should treat enemy combatants like the enemy. The U.S. court system is not the appropriate venue."

The Obama administration has been trying to clear out Guantanamo and not bring any new prisoners there.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said it's fine with him if Abu Ghaith is put on trial in New York because key state and city officials had been consulted in advance, unlike in the case of terror suspect Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

"Unlike with KSM, Kelly and others had been consulted ahead of time about this and they gave the green light to do it. As you know, (Police Commissioner) Ray Kelly, Mayor (Michael) Bloomberg and I opposed the trial of (Mohammed) in New York and we successfully made sure that didn't happen," said Schumer. "On issues like this, I defer to Commissioner Kelly, and I think the mayor does as well. And he thinks it's OK to do it here, and I'll go by that," Schumer said. 

Jordanian sources confirmed that Abu Ghaith was sent by Turkey via Jordan to Kuwait, and intercepted in Jordan and brought to the U.S.

According to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Turkish officials captured Abu Ghaith in the capital Ankara, where a court ruled he had entered the country illegally with a fake passport. The Turkish government then ostensibly deported Abu Ghaith to his birthplace Kuwait, but arranged for him to transit through Jordan where he was ultimately taken into custody by U.S. law enforcement, the officials said.

U.S. officials told NBC that prior to his interception in Turkey, Abu Ghaith, who dropped out of sight after 2002, had spent most of a decade in Iran.

"Nobody's heard a peep. Some people thought he was being held prisoner in Iran, others thought he might be dead," said Evan Kohlmann, an American counter-terrorism analyst for NBC News. 

NBC News chief Pentagon correspondent Jim Miklaszewski and Moufaq Khatib NBC News producer in Jordan contributed to this report.

 

This story was originally published on Thu Mar 7, 2013 11:47 AM EST