News, Announcements, and Events

An NBC reporter gains access to a region just a few nautical miles from the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategic waterways. NBC’s Ali Arouzi reports. (Nightly News)

South Korean activists sent warm socks and messages of love attached to balloons toward North Korea Saturday, according to the AFP news agency.

Anger over Twitter's new policy to censor messages on a country-by-country basis is resulting in protests by some Twitter users who say they will refuse to tweet on Saturday.

Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: The sunspot responsible for setting off a colorful round of northern lights got off a doozy of a parting shot, just as it was about to pass around the edge of the sun's disk.

Chandler: What's that noise? Either Bigfoot is close by, or it's the women's singles final featuring Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova at the Australian Open.

Economist Nouriel Roubini, nicknamed "Dr. Doom" for his gloomy predictions ahead of the 2008 financial meltdown, says the fallout from that crisis could last the rest of this decade.

A young man posts his photo with a leaflet demanding freedom for Tibet and telling Chinese police, come and get me. When they arrive, neighbors rise up to defend him.

Two tragic spine injuries in Minnesota high school hockey games in the last month have sparked debate among parents, officials, and fans over how the rough sport can be made safer.

On the heavily redacted recording, one of Moore's friends argues with the dispatcher amid confusion over which agency should be sending paramedics.

LeBron James scored 31 points, Dwyane Wade scored 28 in his return from a sprained right ankle, and the Miami Heat beat the 3-point-obsessed New York Knicks 99-89 on Friday night.

The U.S. women's soccer team booked their way to London on Friday night with a 3-0 victory over Costa Rica in the semifinals of the CONCACAF qualifying tournament.

A Tennessee dad rescued Juno from a shelter just days before she was due to be euthanized. Chester Hembree said he had a gut-feeling that the Belgian shepherd was the dog capable of helping his 4-year-old son, who has an irreversible degenerative condition.

A federal judge in Seattle has sentenced the "Barefoot Bandit" to 6 1/2 years in prison for his two-year, international crime spree of break-ins, and boat and plane thefts.

France and Afghanistan agree NATO should speed up by a year its timetable for handing all combat operations to Afghan forces in 2013, President Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday, raising new questions about the unity of the Western military alliance.

Any university student who has ever purchased a used textbook knows that there are sometimes strange surprises hiding between those pages. Usually they come in the form of messy scribbles, but in one student's case the unexpected gift-with-a-textbook-purchase was a bag of cocaine.

The economy perked up late last year as factories ramped up production. Unfortunately, a lot of what those factories made is still in warehouses and on store shelves. 

Newt Gingrich unleashes a fiery ad attacking his rival while Romney appealed to Florida’s Hispanic voters. NBC’s Peter Alexander reports. (Nightly News)

Influential Republicans are mobilizing to stop presidential candidate Newt Gingrich from ascending in the race. NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell reports. (Nightly News)

A small asteroid the size of a city bus zoomed between Earth and the moon's orbit Friday, just days after its discovery, but it never posed a threat to our planet, NASA says.

If the stars continue to align properly over the desert, McIlroy might finally give Woods what he’s lacked his entire career — a rival with staying power.

If there's going to be a David Tyree in Super Bowl XLVI, it'll be a guy like Julian Edelman.

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Victoria Azarenka beat Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-0 Saturday to win the Australian Open and take over the women's No. 1 ranking.

LeBron James scored 31 points, Dwyane Wade scored 28 in his return from a sprained right ankle, and the Miami Heat beat the 3-point-obsessed New York Knicks 99-89 on Friday night.

So much was on the line for the U.S. women's soccer team that maybe some jitters were understandable. When a 30-yard shot hit the frame of goalpost, leaving the ball sitting in front of an empty net, the hearts really started pounding.

Wesseling: Remember David Tyree? The Giants do. And you know the Patriots do. The former New York receiver was a special teams star who caught a touchdown and an incredible pass late in the fourth quarter that set up the Giants' game-winning score in Super Bowl XLII. Could there be another Tyree in this year's game? We've identified the most likely candidates.

Derrick Rose got motivated, got aggressive, and got the Chicago Bulls another win over the Milwaukee Bucks before a big road trip.

Dwight Howard sat calmly in his locker and spoke softly, but with cutting tone as he ripped into his team for what he saw as a lack of effort.

Paul Pierce played more than 44 minutes in Orlando on Thursday night, then boarded a plane with his Celtics teammates and arrived in Boston after 3 a.m. Friday.

Three first overall NHL draft picks. The Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik. And don't forget Pavel Datsyuk, the consistent Detroit Red Wings forward.

Bobby Cremins' assistant says the veteran basketball coach hasn't looked well the past few weeks and Friday evening the College of Charleston announced Cremins will miss the rest of the season because of a medical problem.

It was a tense tied game late in the fourth quarter, one these nervous fans were used to seeing their Minnesota Timberwolves let slip away.

PBT: Dallas is off to a slow start in its title defense, hasn’t looked the part of a contender and has looked old. Especially Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk has taken to the offensive on those that question him and his team. He thinks they’ll be just fine.

The tougher South Course at Torrey Pines suited Kyle Stanley just fine Friday in the Farmers Insurance Open.

PHT: Kessel, Seguin ... All-Star linemates?

PHT: Thomas wants family, friends left out of story

Landon Donovan set up both goals for Everton, which rallied to beat Fulham and Clint Dempsey 2-1 Friday night for a berth in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Chandler: So, Tim, you think government is too big? Then why didn’t you boycott the Bruins’ victory parade, which was subsidized by the taxpayers? That was a terrific use of public money at the direction of big government, wasn’t it?

Lindsey Vonn won a World Cup super-combined event Friday to extend her lead in the overall standings against second-place Tina Maze.