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Sunday, Feb. 28

Japan lowers the country's tsunami warning | 5:17 a.m. ET

NBC News reports that Japan's meteorological society has downgraded the warning for the country's north coast from high risk -- which is issued when waves of at least 3 meters are expected -- to a regular warning.

Pacific-wide tsunami warning lifted | 5:04 a.m. ET

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center cancels its widespread alert after smaller-than-expected waves hit Japan and Russia. Earlier, experts had issued a warning for 53 countries and regions in the area.

Tsunami warning lifted in Kamchatka Peninsula | 1:14 a.m. ET

The feared tsunamis rolled across the Pacific Saturday and Sunday but -- so far -- have amounted to very little.

Authorities in Russia's far eastern Kamchatka region lifted a tsunami alert after a series of small waves appeared to cause no damage, a spokeswoman for the Emergencies Ministry said. Earlier, it was reported that a 30-inch wave struck the peninsula.

Saturday, Feb. 27

First tsunami waves strike Japan | 11:26 p.m. ET

The Associated Press reports that first tsunami from Chile's distant earthquake has struck Japan's outlying islands, but the initial waves are small -- very small.

Japan's Meteorological Agency said the first tsunami was recorded in the Ogasawara islands early Sunday afternoon. It was just 10 centimeters (4 inches) high.

Officials said bigger waves could follow and maintained their alerts, the AP reported. Hours earlier, a tsunami warning was canceled for the Hawaiian Islands.

Chile earthquake photos from Twitter | 9 p.m. ET

Msnbc.com correspondent Suzanne Choney reports that communications systems in Chile, a much more technologically advanced country than Haiti, are strained but still functioning for many in the wake of the earthquake. However, the country's transportation minister, René Cortázar asked that Chileans limit their use of telephones.

"There's a problem with communication quality and overload, for which we only ask people to use the phone if it's completely necessary," Cortázar is quoted as saying in Argentina's Buenos Aires Herald newspaper. "We only ask people to use the phone if it's completely necessary."

Volunteers from the nonprofit group, Télécoms Sans Frontières (Telecommunications Without Borders), which also helped in Haiti after the Jan. 12 quake there, are on their way to Chile, Paul  Paul Margie, U.S. representative for the nonprofit group told msnbc.com.

Are earthquakes getting worse? |  6:44 p.m. ET

Chile is on a hotspot of sorts for earthquake activity, according to a Live Science report. And so the 8.8-magnitude temblor that shook the region overnight was not a surprise, historically speaking. Nor was it outside the realm of normal, scientists say, even though it comes on the heels of other major earthquakes.

One scientist, however, says that relative to the time period from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s, Earth has been more active over the past 15 years or so. 

The Chilean earthquake, and the tsunami it spawned, originated on a hot spot known as a subduction zone, where one plate of Earth's crust dives under another. It's part of the active "Ring of Fire," a zone of major crustal plate clashes that surround the Pacific Ocean.

"This particular subduction zone has produced very damaging earthquakes throughout is history," said Randy Baldwin, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey.

The largest quake ever recorded, magnitude 9.5, occurred along the same fault zone in May 1960.

Even so, magnitude-8 earthquakes occur globally, on average, just once a year. Since magnitudes are given on a logarithmic scale, an 8.8-magnitude is much more intense than a magnitude 8, and so this event would be even rarer, said J. Ramón Arrowsmith, a geologist at Arizona State University.

"Relative to the 20-year period from the mid-1970s to the mid 1990s, the Earth has been more active over the past 15 or so years," said Stephen S. Gao, a geophysicist at Missouri University of Science and Technology. "We still do not know the reason for this yet. Could simply be the natural temporal variation of the stress field in the earth's lithosphere." (The lithosphere is the outer solid part of the Earth.)

Hawaii 'dodges a bullet' | 6:04 p.m. ET

An official at the Pacific Tsunami Warning  Center tells the Associated Press that Hawaii "dodged a bullet" after a major earthquake sent powerful waves roiling around the Pacific. 

It still will be about an hour before officials will be willing to give an all-clear in Hawaii, but there were no immediate reports of major damage around the Pacific rim. just tidal surges that  reached up to about seven feet in some island chains.   

Gerard Fryer, a geophysist for the tsunami center, defended the  decision to urge evacuations of coastal areas, saying "better safe  than sorry."

Barry Hirshorn, a geophysicist with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center tells NBC News that they are not seeing the water levels dropping - which is why the tsunami warning is still in effect. There are multiple waves that are still rolling in and the largest waves may not have arrived yet.

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View from Hilo: Whales were very active | 6:01 p.m. ET

Don Sullivan of Denver, Colo., was vacationing in Hilo when he was awoken at 6 a.m. local time by tsunami warning sirens and forced to evacuate to high ground.  Sirens continued to blare every hour after than, he said. 

"The evacuation seemed smooth, but there were huge gas lines," he said.

He drove to a nearby scenic overlook about 100 feet above the beach, where he had a good view of the tsunami waves as they arrived. The sky was full of helicopters, he said, but there was no sense of panic among the evacuees.

Two hours before the first wave hit, at about 2 p.m. ET, Sullivan said "The whales (were) going nuts, very, very active," he said.  Then, about an hour before that wave, only a single whale remained in view.  [He was] "About 100 yards out, young, looks like he is confused, bobbing up and down, he is in trouble," Sullivan said. 

Then, just after 4 p.m. ET, the water receded with eerie calm away from the coast. 

"The beach line quickly (got) wider," he said.  A few minutes later, the water rushed back in. "The bay (looks) bizarre, like a blender," he said.  The churned up bay filled with dirty water, he said.  There was no sign of the struggling whale after the second wave, he said.

Then, at around 5:45, after three "surges" of water, the whales reappeared, suggesting to Sullivan that nature might be getting back to normal.

"The choppers are leaving and the whales are returning," he said.

But public officials continue to issues warning that the tsunami was still dangerous, so Sullivan, 47, had no idea what to do next.

"We don't really know what to do with ourselves," he said. "I've been up since yesterday morning and we don't know if we will be allowed to go back to our hotel."

-As told to msnbc.com's Bob Sullivan over a series of text messages and short phone calls. Don Sullivan is Bob Sullivan's older brother.

U.S. Embassy checking on Americans on Chile, Associated Press | 5:29 p.m. ET

The State Department says the U.S. Embassy in Chile is working to learn the whereabouts of U.S. citizens, both diplomatic employees and others, who were living in or visiting Chile when the magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck early today.

There are no reports of U.S. casualties, and the U.S. military says it has no reports that any of its forces have been affected either on land or at sea.

The State Department advises Americans seeking information on family and friends in Chile to contact the Bureau of Consular Affairs at 1-888-407-4747.

There are 118 embassy employees in Chile. It's unclear how many Americans there are throughout Chile, but an estimated 1,000 live in and near Concepcion, which is only 70 miles from the quake's epicenter.

Fires in Santiago, Concepcion | 5:26 p.m. ET

The mayor of Santiago ordered residents around a factory on fire to leave due to toxic cloud overhead. Some kind of chemical is being released. The number of people evacuated wasn't given.

In Concepcion, firefighters say that they were able to pull out 22 people from a building on fire, but that 60 more people could still be inside.

Significant surge in Ventura, Calif. | 5:25 p.m. ET

According to the Ventura, California Harbor Patrol, the Ventura Harbor hada significant tidal surge around 4 p.m. ET, but absolutely no big wave.

The harbor had a significant in-and-surge, ranging from positive 2.5 feet to negative 3 feet.

Most, if not all, of the harbor's navigational buoys were swept away, thus the harbor patrol is busy helping boats get back into the harbor at this time 5:15pm EST.  No boats sank.

There was also some sand erosion on local beaches.

There were no injuries and apparently no other damage except to the buoys, but the situation is still unstable.

Tsunami has reached Hawaii | 5:10 p.m. ET

Scientists say ocean gauges confirm the tsunami has reached Hawaii; the extent of damage is uncertain.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center tells NBC News that the 5.6-foot tsunami wave was recorded at Hilo Bay of Hawaii. Live video on the Web and on TV shows water receding from beaches but nothing dramatic yet.

Beach towns possibly wiped out in Chile | 4:52 p.m. ET

It's summer in South America and hundreds of thousands of people were vacationing at the beaches and may have just started to pack up to get back to work or school on March 1.

According to an ADN Radio reporter, many beach towns were wiped out, including Matanzas, which is wind/kite surfing destination that attracts foreigners. The town is along the beach and is reportedly completely submerged.

The ADN Radio reporter says a witness in a beach town near Valparaiso reported that 200 beach homes, most with people inside, were washed away. The scene included cars floating around. Undetermined number of dead. Navy official confirms a large wave in that area but didn't have specifics.

Update at 5:07 p.m. ET: The death toll in Chile has been updated to 214, according to Interior Minister Edmundo Perez.

Updates | 4:41 p.m. ET

KHNL-TV is reporting a strong water surge in the area of Wailoa, Hawaii

From Hilo: Water fluctuations are starting. Discoloration and strange tides happening.

Also from KHNL: Rock outcropping now being exposed in Hilo Bay - water levels seem to have dropped a lot.

Update 4:56 p.m.: Pago Plaza in American Samoa was inundated by a tsunami wave, according to NOAA.

A 5-foot tsunami wave hit Chatham Islands, 430 miles southeast of New Zealand.
 
From eyewitness Kelly Mitchell in Honolulu: Another surge heading back in.Sandy Beach on Oahu is experiencing rising seas.

More aftershocks in Chile | 4:11 p.m. ET

USGS reports the 54th major aftershock, magnitude 5.0, centered off the coast of Bio-Bio, Chile.

Update at 4:34 p.m. ET: A health official just told reporters that apart from three hospitals severely damaged in Santiago, a dozen more south of the capital have also seen significant damage.

Hawaii coastline live streams on the Web | 4:08 p.m. ET

• KITV live stream
• KHNL live stream
  
• The Honolulu Advertiser has a live stream of Waikiki Beach 
• Mashable has compiled these live streams

Tweets from the USGS | 3:54 p.m. ET

The USGS is maintaining a very informative Twitter feed here.

It quotes USGS geophysicst Eric Geist saying the Chilean quake "could safely be placed in the Top 10 of earthquakes."

Of taking the tsunami threat, he says, "Tsunamis are not breaking waves. 75 percent of tsunamis do not break. If you see a tsunami on the beach, it's too late to run."

Hawaii tsunami forecasts | 3:36 p.m. ET 

Warning in American Samoa, Guam | 1:37 p.m.

NOAA is telling NBC News that anybody in Guam or American Samoa needs to get to higher ground because they are in the warning area.  NOAA wants to reiterate that the warning area is serious.

Tsunami travel times | 1:29 p.m. ET

This NOAA graphic explains how they can forecast the tsunami in Hawaii so far in advance.

Click here to enlarge and here to see a quicktime movie of the animation.

Twitcaps also has this visualization of twitter photos relating to the quake.

Prisoners escape? | 1:18 P.M. ET

Local media is reporting that a wall in the El Cerezo prison in Chillan allowed 209 criminals to escape. About 60 more inmates tried to flee but were recaptured. Approximately 600 other inmates are being transferred to a unit in Concepcion.

Today's Chile quake and its relationship to 1960 event by Robert Bazell | 1:09 p.m. ET

Today's earthquake is 150 miles south of the largest earthquake ever
recorded  -- a 9.5 on May 22, 1960. Scientists say the two events are
related.  The 1960 quake killed 1655 people and caused a devastating
tsunami in Hilo, Hawaii. 

Both quakes occurred at the intersection of
the Nzca plate (an Aztec word for a part of the larger Pacific plate)
and the South American plate

FEMA Statement on Tsunami from Craig Fugate, FEMA administrator | 1:04 p.m. ET

"FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security are closely monitoring the situation, and officials are in close contact with the State of Hawaii and the U.S. territories in the Pacific Ocean that could be impacted by a potential tsunami. FEMA stands ready to assist should a request for assistance be made, and does have pre-deployed assets in Hawaii, including food, water, generators and other resources. We urge all individuals to follow the direction provided by local officials."

Concerns for Concepcion from the Associated Press | 12:56 p.m. ET

In Concepcion, Chile's second-largest city and only 70 miles (115 kilometers) from the epicenter, nurses and residents pushed the injured through the streets on stretchers. Others walked around in a daze wrapped in blankets, some carrying infants in their arms.
A 15-story building collapsed, leaving only a few floors intact.

 "I was on the 8th floor and all of a sudden I was down here," said Fernando Abarzua, marveling that he escaped with no major injuries. He said a relative was still trapped in the rubble six hours after the quake, "but he keeps shouting, saying he's OK."

NOAA buoys detect tsunami in Peru filed by Robert Bazell, NBC Science Correspondent | 12:44 p.m.

After the Indonesian Tsunami, NOAA installed more buoys at sea to detect tsunamis.  A buoy off Lima, Peru has  detected a 9-inch tsunami.

Scientists say that  small size is NOT necessarily reassuring because the depth of the ocean and the structure of the ocean floor can greatly influence the size of a tsunami

Information from the U.S. military, filed by Jim Miklasewski | 12:21 p.m. ET

U.S. military officials say Chile has still not formally sought any US military assistance in response to the earthquake, "and frankly we don't expect them to ask."

As for the tsunami, U.S. Navy officials say they're expecting only a two 2-foot surge to hit the islands within hours.

As a result they have evacuated two military housing complexes on the Island of Oahu "as a precaution."  The Navy is NOT removing any ships from ports and sending them out to sea.

Update as of 1:11 p.m. ET:  The U.S. Navy will redeploy 4 ships out of port in Hawaii to open waters as a precaution against the approaching tsunami.

The two military housing complexes on the Island of Oahu were evacuated.

Olympic athletes in Chile head home | 11:52 p.m. ET

Chile's athletes and coaches are planning to skip the Olympic closing
ceremonies following a magnitude-8.8 earthquake that has devastated
their country.

Team spokesman Luis Alberto Santa Cruz said Saturday morning that the
athletes and coaches are trying to get home from Vancouver as soon as
possible because of the quake.

Chile has three Alpine skiers representing the country at the Vancouver
Games. Noelle Barahona, Maui Gayme and Jorge Mandru are all finished
competing, so they won't miss any remaining events.

Santa Cruz says that some of the coaches and athletes have been able to
reach family and so far, they have found out that their loved ones are
fine. Some are still trying to make contact.

Evacuation in Hawaii | 11:54 p.m. ET

Senators Daniel K. Inouye and Daniel K. Akaka are urging Hawaii residents to remain calm, listen to the news and follow evacuation orders after a 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Chile generated a tsunami expected to affect all coastlines in the Hawaii islands.

"We have not had voluntary tsunami evacuations in Hawaii since 1994 so this is a serious event.  If you live in an evacuation zone I urge you to gather your family and please leave the area," said Senator Inouye.  "It is important to remain calm, listen to the news, and follow the instructions being issued by state and county civil defense officials."

"This is not something to take lightly," said Senator Akaka. "I encourage all to stay calm, follow the directions of our State Civil Defense, and stay away from all shorelines."

The first waves are expected to hit the Big Island at 11:19 a.m. and the estimated arrival time for Honolulu is 11:25 a.m., according to the warning center. Some areas of Hawaii could see an initial 10 to 15 foot rise and waves could continue for at least six hours according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning cCnter.

Evacuation maps and information is available on the Tsunami Warning Center's Web site, but individuals on Twitter are alerting each other about not crowding the servers by needlessly hitting the site.

VANCOUVER – Ahead of the Vancouver Games, the  Canadian Olympic Committee launched the ambitious "Own the Podium" program with the explicit goal to "place first in the total medal count at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games."

Even though the Canadian government and corporate sponsors spent a record $112 million over four years on training through the program, near the end of competition Friday, the Canadians were far short of their goal to win the most medals in Vancouver – the United States had 34 medals, with Canada in third place with 21 medals.

Tony Gentile / Reuters

Gold medalists Canada's Kaillie Humphries, left, and Heather Moyse, right, celebrate after winning the women's bobsleigh on Feb. 24.Â

But despite all the money aimed at athletes of both genders, the women may own the podium after all. So far, the Canadian women have accounted for about 70 percent of the national medal haul. 

Winning women
But this isn't the first time the Canadian women have done so. The tide started to turn for Canada just after the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, when men scored eight medals and women won seven. Then, in Salt Lake City in 2002, the women took home nine medals and the men seven. The women started to pick up the pace at Torino in 2006, winning two-thirds of the medals.

Still, members of the Canadian Olympic Committee proudly boasted about the female athletes' latest achievement at a presser on Thursday.

"Canada was way ahead of the game in giving women access to sport," said Nathalie Lambert, a Canadian Olympic medalist in short-track speed skating and the chef de mission of the podium program.

Lambert said the support that Canada gives its female athletes and its promotion of gender equity has created a snowball effect. She believes that the more female role models are created, the more young women are more likely to aim for the same goals their role models achieved.

Looking at numbers provided by the U.S. Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee, Germany appears to be the only country among the top medal winners that comes close to the Canadians in rate of success by female athletes. Even for the United States, female athletes lag behind the men in the Vancouver medal count, by 11 to 21.  

Men's competition 'unfathomably hard'
Still, speed skater Clara Hughes, at 37 the most decorated Canadian Olympian and the fourth athlete in history who has medaled in both the Winter and Summer Games, reasoned that some of the women's dominance had to be chalked up to the strength of men's sports.

"There is, and I hate to say this as a female, but there is a lot more depth in men's sports, especially in endurance sports," she said during the press conference on Thursday. "It takes a lot more resources and time for men to develop. In my sport, speed skating and also in cycling, when you get a top-10 result as a male, it's something out of this world coming from North America. Sports at this level are unfathomably hard and difficult."

Nevertheless, Canadian Olympic Committee CEO Chris Rudge said the women's rising medal count "speaks wonderfully of the gender equity out there."

But in the end, he added, "It's not about men and women, it's about supporting the best athlete."

VANCOUVER – With the world in Vancouver for the Winter Olympics, many countries are showcasing their culture, cuisine, art and music with hospitality houses.

But defining "hospitality" is another matter. Some houses are open only to athletes and sponsors. Others are open to citizens visiting the games. Others are open to the public – sometimes for a price – and are an attempt to encourage tourism. Still others are basically nightclubs open to anyone willing to wait in line and hand over a few toonies ($2 coins) or loonies ($1 coins).

VIDEO: Olympic houses open doors to international cultures

The Irish House is open to anyone willing to stand in line and pay $20 to get in. It's essentially a frat party under a massive white tent big enough to accommodate hundreds of revelers and a live band. Guinness is on tap, but it doesn't come cheap at about $8 per glass.

Russia's Sochi 2014 House is housed in Vancouver's Science World – a large dome-shaped building on the waterfront. It is open to the public from 12 to 5 p.m. daily, but it has become so popular that the lines are several hours long. The house is closed to the public from 8 p.m. until closing at 2 a.m.; during those evening hours it is only open to invited guests who have received special "accreditation" from Russia House. 

The Slovak House is open to the public, but costs $60 for lunch and $115 for dinner. That sounds like a lot, but that gets you all the traditional Slovakian food you can eat – like "bryndzové haluŔky," a hearty mac and cheese type dish – and all you can drink. Slovakia, a part of the former Czechslovakia until it was peacefully dissolved in 1993, has great beer. There is also traditional music – and a buoyant mood given Slovakia's strong showing in these games with three medals – a gold, silver and bronze, all in biathlon – and making it into the men's hockey semifinals against Canada Friday. 

The House of Switzerland, on Vancouver's scenic Granville Island, is also open to the public. Offering an ala carte restaurant menu with Swiss delicacies such as "venison medallions with spätzle, red cabbage and ginger bread sauce" for $38 for dinner to "Lindt chocolate creations" like cake, parfait or mousse for dessert for $12. There is also traditional Swiss music and Swiss television broadcasts. With eight medals so far, six gold, Switzerland has also had an impressive showing at the games. 

But the USA house is the most exclusive – it is open only to American athletes, their families, sponsors and the few others with celebrity status lucky enough to gain entry. (See MSNBC's Willie Geist's parody of the houses' exclusivity with NBC's Brian Williams). 

Click on the video link above to take a tour of three of the hospitality houses open to the public in Vancouver with NBC's Carlos Rigau – from wine and dancing at Casa Italia, to traditional music at the Slovak house, to fondue at the Swiss house. 

VANCOUVER – Canadian Robin Kluczynski, a 59-year-old ex-firefighter, said he's in good hands.

"I'm kind of looking forward to getting it done," said Kluczynski as we walked into his hospital room.

After two heart attacks, he's having quadruple-bypass surgery at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver.

And, like every Canadian, his health insurance is fully covered.

"Could you have afforded this without insurance?" I asked him.

"Absolutely not. It would have wiped out my life's savings, for sure," said Kluczynski.

Simpler system
Canadians say they're proud of their 50-year-old experiment in universal health care.

Funded by income tax and sales tax, both moderately higher than in the U.S., the system eliminates red tape by replacing insurance companies with one single payer: the government.

The result – Canada spends about half as much as the U.S., per capita, on health care – for all of its 33 million citizens.

On average, Canadians live three years longer than Americans and have a lower infant mortality rate. Though experts say these positive statistics could be a result of a mostly hardy, outdoors lifestyle as much as the Canada's health care system.

Still, critics say there are weaknesses.

There can be long waits, sometimes six months to a year, for surgeries like hip and knee replacements. The plan is only public – consumers have no private options for basic care. And some procedures are easier to find in the U.S.

"You have fewer doctors available, fewer specialists, fewer hospital beds, or places where sophisticated treatments can take place," said Dr. June O'Neill, a health care expert at Baruch College in New York.

Earlier this month,  a top Canadian government official raised eyebrows when he traveled to Miami for heart valve repair, rather than having it done in Canada.

Newfoundland and Labrador's Premier Danny Williams said the trip was recommended by his Canadian doctor.

"This is my heart, it's my health, and it's my choice," said Williams, defending his decision in a Canadian television interview.

But surgeons at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver point out that many Americans actually come to their operating room for the same treatment.

"It's less expensive, but not because it's lagging in either technology, or talent or what's available," said Dr. Sam Lichtenstein, a heart surgeon at St. Paul's Hospital.

Meanwhile, Kluczynski, the former fireman, said being on the receiving end of Canada's health care has been fast and efficient.

"The doctors are superb. The staff,  from the nurses all the way down to the housecleaners, you couldn't ask for anything better," said Kluczynski. "The health care system works, and works well."

VANCOUVER – Who knew ice could be transformed into something so colorful – never mind bold and beautiful?
 
Gordon Halloran, the creator of an art form called "Paintings Below Zero" has mounted a massive frozen watercolor at one of the celebration sites for the 2010 Winter Games.

Halloran calls his ice-covered canvas "The Ice Gate," and it's certainly an eye-catcher.

VIDEO: NBC's Ron Mott reports on Vancouver's 'Paintings Below Zero'Â

Enclosed in a special box that doesn't allow condensation to fog up the glass, the ice sculpture stretches 100 feet long and almost 12 feet high. The colorful display grabs ticket-holders attention on their way to the long track speed skating at the Richmond Olympic Oval.

Some, like local Canadian teenager Alannah Lipsey, don't know what to make of it. "What is it? A painting or a sculpture? I guess you have to look at it for awhile to figure it out."

Her friend Elyse Eden, another local teen, decided the art is filled with all sorts of Olympic symbolism. "It's the red mittens, all the flags and flame but broken up."
 
Others were reminded of the Northern Lights, glaciers, planets, bubble gum, jungle animals, a walrus, a whale and even different flavors of melting ice cream.  
 
Sparking different interpretations to his art seems to be exactly what Halloran was reaching for.

"The really ironic quality of having warm colors like red and orange and yellows inside a frozen mass does something to the mind," said Halloran. "People see something different depending on where they are standing. It's a three-dimensional painting."

Halloran said creating the art was an endurance test worthy of any Olympic athlete competing in Vancouver.
 
He and his team spent three months working in a deep-freeze environment – pouring and mixing, freezing and chiseling an array of vibrant colors in a cold storage warehouse that registered minus 17 degrees Fahrenheit.

But outside, the artist battled what has been the warmest winter British Colombia has experienced in 100 years. It's been so warm that he had to mount his painting on a refrigerated wall kept cold by two small generators similar to those found in a small home freezer.

Halloran first began painting in ice more than 15 years ago while watching a hockey game. The award-winning illustrator and art professor said he began to imagine the entire surface of the ice rink exploding with color.

Since then Halloran has created a number of mind-bending massive ice paintings that included an Ice Wall in 2008 for Millennium Park in Chicago and several huge ice structures in an Italian church during the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.

Halloran said his art form comes from growing up in Canada with its marvelous landscape. He admits that when he first started out he had "no idea that the medium itself would be so explosive."

And explode it does – especially as daylight fades. The shards of colored ice become more spectacular, and you are left with a magical vision of ice breaking through the surface.

VANCOUVER – In terms of straight numbers it may not sound like a lot – 140 Canadian war dead in Afghanistan.

But for Canada, it's the greatest number of deaths for a single military mission since the Korean War. Canada has suffered the third-largest number of deaths among the coalition forces, after the U.S. and U.K. respectively.

It may come as a surprise, but roughly 3,000 troops from the "true north" are fighting in the volatile Kandahar region, often on the front lines. Canadian forces are fighting alongside their American allies in the effort to rout out the Taliban and al-Qaida and return Afghanistan to its people.

But of course, every casualty death reverberates at home. 

VIDEO: Canada shares U.S. sacrifices in Afghanistan

'The Highway of Heroes'
Lt. Andrew Nuttall, who was born in Prince Rupert, B.C. and lived in Vancouver after finishing a degree in engineering at the University of Victoria, was typical of many of the Canadians who join the military. His friends affectionately called him "Nut-man." 

"He just had such a great view of life," said Scott Cressman, who had been Nuttall's close friend since their first year at the University of Victoria. "He had a great smile, and he always found the positive side of things." 

It was Nuttall's quest for the positive that led him to Afghanistan. He joined the Canadian Forces hoping to make the world a better place. He was killed by a roadside bomb two days before Christmas.

Each time a Canadian soldier falls a wave of sorrow seems to wash across this country that these days is often known more for its peacekeepers.

When the body is brought home, people spontaneously gather on bridges and overpasses carrying flags and standing at attention. The stretch of road near Toronto where soldiers are repatriated is now called "The Highway of Heroes," and thousands stand in respect when convoys carrying the bodies of dead soldiers pass.

"There's a very strong feeling of collective loss," said Dr. Gordon Smith of the University of Victoria. "Canadians want to make a contribution in the world. There is a sort of 'do good' dimension to Canada in the world."

 'It's the Canadian thing to do'
But it isn't naïveté. Canadian soldiers say they know what they are getting into when they travel to the dangerous and volatile region of Kandahar. When I recently spoke with a small group of Afghanistan war veterans, many of them said they would volunteer to go back in spite of the risks.

They say they go to help.

"It's the Canadian thing to do," said Lt. Col. Doug Poitras. "We're just taking a little bit of Canada, trying to help others in the world try to have a better place to live as well."

"Every loss is hard, and not just Canadian losses but the other nations as well," added Maj. Harjit Sajjan, a decorated veteran of multiple tours.

Duty seemed important to these soldiers. There is a sense that if they don't do it, then who will?  

"You ask yourself, is my fear or apprehension enough that I want to put this on someone else's shoulders?" said veteran Sgt. Clint Godsoe. "That's a pretty hard question to have to ask yourself every morning in the mirror." 

 I asked him how he would answer that question.

"Well, I think as a nation we've proven how we answer that."

Nuttall answered it with his life. His friend Cressman misses him but understands why he went.

"Drew was one of a lot of really great people who have gone over there and lost their lives trying to make a difference."

VANCOUVER – Women's bobsledding only became an Olympic sport in 2002, with women competing for the first time at the Salt Lake City Olympics. Shauna Rohbock, 32, is a veteran of those games, but she still has to fight for respect in her sport, which she calls "chauvinistic." NBC's Dawna Friesen reports.

VIDEO: Women's bobsledder fights for speed and respect

From skaters to skiers, curlers to bobsledders, Olympic athletes sport flamboyant fashion and colorful gear at the 2010 Vancouver Games.

Click below to see a Today Show slide show of some of the outrageous outfits gracing the ice, as well as the slopes, at the Olympic games.  

SLIDESHOW: Outrageous Olympic outfits

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VANCOUVER – Still giddy, ice dancing gold medalists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, held a press conference with the Canadian Olympic Committee Tuesday morning to discuss their victory – a first for Canada. 

The mood of the press conference was light with a lot of laughter from the press corps. The duo, who met when they were ages 7 and 9, talked about how important the gold medal win was not only to them, but to their families and the staff and coaches at their home rink. Given the long journey to victory, they said their success was just as much their families' as their own.  

Moir said that one of the "coolest moments" since winning the gold was receiving a call from Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

VIDEO: Canadians dance their way to gold

Given the fact that they met at such a young age, one reporter asked what they thought of each other at that time. Virtue said she had a crush on Moir – but that all the other girls in the rink did, too. For his part, Moir said that at 9 years old, he was mainly focused on getting into skates meant for ice hockey. 

But with some time, he said, he realized that spending his time holding hands with a cute girl was "a lot better than hanging out with 19 other guys." 

The next question, begged to be asked after that remark: Are Virtue and Moir a couple? 

Moir answered bluntly: "We are not dating."  (It was one of the only moments that the press conference that he did not appear to be joking around).

A reporter asked Moir if the rumor that he kissed the ice after his performance was true.

Moir admitted that after they won the gold medal, he padded back out in his street clothes and shoes and kissed the ice. He said he wanted to thank whatever the energy in that rink was.

"I think I even French-kissed the ice!" he said, causing roar of laughter.

VANCOUVER – The crowds at Vancouver's curling events, which at first blush seem to be among the Winter Olympics' more genteel sports, are anything but quiet.

With shouts of "Here we go, Canada, here we go" in unison with foot stomping, cowbell clanging, clapping and flag waving, the crowds at Monday's women's curling round-robin match were decidedly rowdy.

Despite the intense focus of the players on TV that makes the sport seem akin to the quiet of a golf course, the crowds in Vancouver have made the competition seem more like the Stanley Cup than the Masters.

Dan Levine / EPA

A lone Swedish fan stands amidst fans of U.S. curling during the round robin match between their countries in the men's curling competition in Vancouver on Feb. 20.Â

'Let's go Russia'
To the raucous tones of "Stop the rock," the teams competing Monday took to the ice. The eight national teams played four games simultaneously: Russia versus China, Japan versus Switzerland, Canada versus Sweden and Great Britain versus Denmark.

The confusion of eight teams playing at once added to the excitement. Each team of four was shouting in their respective languages as they tried to manipulate the movement of the 42-pound curling stones.

For American audiences, the sport is fascinating for its enigma. With terms like "biter," "hammer" and "hog line," and commands like "hurry hard," it's no wonder that many Americans are drawn to the game more out of curiosity than familiarity.

But that didn't seem to be the case among the packed crowds of the Vancouver Olympic Center, which has the capacity for 5,600, as they cheered on their teams Monday.

Canada's fans might have been the loudest, just on the sheer strength of their numbers, but the Russian, Chinese, Japanese and other fans were not shy, either. In fact, the cheering seemed to be of an equal-opportunity nature depending on which team had a good play. 

"Let's go, Russia," accompanied by horn blowing, was heard almost as frequently as "Go, Canada, Go." Japanese fans waved flags as excitedly as the Swiss.

Still, the Canadian fans were definitely the most enthusiastic. They were so boisterous during the men's match between Canada and Great Britain on Saturday that play had to be officially paused as a result of the impromptu singing of the Canadian national anthem by what seemed to be the entire stadium.  

Petra Cahill, msnbc.com

The Axelson family, from left to right, Rick, Jenni, and Heather show off their excitement for the home team outside the women's curling on Monday.Â

Wearing red jackets with maple leaves on their cheeks, Rick Axelson, his wife, Heather, and their daughter, Jenni – the women also in maple leaf-styled go-go boots – thoroughly enjoyed the crowds at the women's match.

"It was awesome," Rick said. "I loved thumping my feet, myself. You think of [curling] like golf, where you don't say anything, right?  But it was very loud and was inclusive of everybody."

The Axelson family had come all the way from Toronto for two weeks to be a part of the games and had already attended opening ceremonies, hockey, curling and skating. Jenni, 11, said she was taking time off from school, but was maintaining a blog about the games for her classmates at home.

Although they are curlers at home, it was the first time the family had attended curling at a competitive level as spectators, and they were impressed by how knowledgeable the crowd was about the rules and regulations of the sport.

Dennis Ganske, another avid curling fan from Alberta, wasn't shy about which team he was supporting: he was wearing a maple-leaf flag cape. "The cheering was great. It was neat. Nice to see a crowd get into it. Curling isn't that big a thing sometimes, so it was really nice to see that happening," said Ganske.

Asked if he thought the cheering was distracting for the curlers, Ganske said, no. "I think they are in their own zone. They don't even hear you. They are more concentrated on the game, than what's going on."

Dave Tobelmann, who came to the games from Minneapolis, said he brought a cowbell with him to curling, but from what he'd seen on TV he expected a subdued crowd – more like a bowling match.

"We were discussing on the way over, 'Do you just stay quiet for this thing? Or are we supposed to make any noise?'" said Tobelmann. "But we ended up with the stomping people. So we were stomping and cheering. We had Canadians all around us, so we got into it pretty good."

Tobelmann, who went to the last two Olympics, but missed out on the curling in Torino, said he was glad to cheer for the Canadians. "We'll cheer for the U.S if they are in a match, otherwise, we'll cheer for whoever is playing." 

And the teams seem to appreciate the excitement. Even when play was stopped by "O Canada" during the men's match on Saturday, British skip David Murdoch was glad to hear the cheers, though his team lost.   

"It was hilarious. It's not something you'll ever see ever again," said Murdoch, according a report by the AFP. 

Kristie Moore, the nearly six months pregnant alternate on the Canadian team, got a huge cheer when she took the ice in the ninth. It was her Olympic debut, but she needed to get on the ice at some point to be eligible for a medal. 

And when the Canadian women finally beat Sweden 6-1 on Monday, the crowd let out a final roar.

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VANCOUVER – On ice hockey's "Super Sunday," police are bracing for crowd control in this hockey-mad country. Three games are being played at Canada Hockey Place. Russia played the Czech Republic, then there will be the much anticipated meeting of Canada and the United States, with Sweden facing Finland in the evening in a rematch of the Torino gold-medal game.

A spokesman for Vancouver City Police told NBC News that police have issued pleas for people to curb their drinking. Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson is urging Olympic fans to "party responsibly" and keep the booze off the streets.

Crowd control and concerns began at the start of the weekend when police say they were overwhelmed Friday night with unprecedented numbers of people in the downtown area drinking openly and behaving badly. Many were consuming liquor in public, an infraction of Canadian law.

On Saturday police required government and private liquor stores in the downtown peninsula to shut their doors at 7 p.m. in an attempt to slow the supply of alcohol on the streets. Police gave merchants just a 30-minute notice to shut down.

Officials said the ban could be repeated Sunday night.

Police said they are bracing for massive crowds in the downtown core on Sunday. They estimate that on Friday and Saturday nights, some 200,000 people flooded a pedestrian zone that police closed to traffic at the start of the games.

Beer and wine are being sold at all Olympic venues, including Canada Hockey Place, which seats nearly 20,000. As always, the venue will be enforcing a two-drink limit per person/per purchase, according to an official with the Vancouver Organizing Committee.

In 1994, when the hometown Canucks lost to the New York Rangers in the final game of Stanley Cup playoffs, the ensuing riots injured 200 people.

LONDON – It's been a hard day's night for lovers of the iconic Abbey Road Studios, where The Beatles recorded all but one of their albums.

A magnet for music lovers from all over the world, every year thousands of fans visit the place in north London where some the biggest albums of the last 50 years were made.

Tourists stop traffic, snapping each other giggling and stepping along the pedestrian crossing as they recreate the cover from the Beatles' 1969 album Abbey Road.

But it now seems one of Britain's most treasured musical landmarks has fallen on hard times. Recording company EMI owns the studios and is trying to sell the building, valued at just over $45 million.

Public outcry has followed rumors that the site could be sold for apartments.

ANDY RAIN / EPA

Richard Porter, a Beatles tour guide, holds his copy of the Beatles' Abbey Road album at Abbey Road in London. The iconic album was recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios.

Help could be at hand. Sir Paul McCartney has pledged his support to save the recording studio, and Andrew Lloyd Webber has said he's very interested in buying it.

The theater impresario has recorded most of his musicals there, including his new production out in March, "Love Never Dies."

"It's vital that the studios are saved for the future of the music industry in the UK," he told msnbc.com. "Abbey Road has such great facilities."

Social network campaign
After being lobbied by fans on Facebook and Twitter, The National Trust, a body that protects England's historical landmarks, is pushing for the studios to be given Grade II listed status.

That would protect the site from any commercial development. The trust already owns the childhood homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney in Liverpool.

But listing the building would not prevent part of it from being turned into a museum, another idea you can hear being mooted in pubs and café's as well as in columns in the British press.

OLI SCARFF / Getty Images

Graffiti graces a wall at the entrance to the Abbey Road recording studios, which have been put up for sale by their owner, EMI.

Bill Harry went to art college with John Lennon before going on to produce "Mersey Beat," a magazine about Liverpool's music scene in the early '60s.

He said he's horrified that the studios might shut down. "It's a magical place where some of the world's biggest artists have recorded, such as Pink Floyd, Duran Duran and many others," he said.

"In many ways the rock landscape that I was brought up in seems to be changing," Harry said. "The art college where I went to school with John Lennon has been sold and will be turned into flats, and the original Cavern (the Liverpool club where the Beatles got their start) was knocked down to make an air vent for the railway.

"These are important icons, and Abbey Road in particular is one of the main tourist attractions in London."

Abbey Road Studios is still a fully functioning recording mill bursting with state of the art equipment. And it still churns out great music. Albums made there have this year won Grammys or been nominated for awards by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Fingers are crossed for the studio – let it be.

WHISTLER, Canada – There is one athlete who is not expected to medal – in fact, he's just hoping not to come in dead last – but who is quickly becoming one of the media sensations of these Winter Olympics.

Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, better known as the "Snow Leopard," is the first Ghanaian to ever compete in the Winter Olympics.    

Kwame's story is a compelling one: He comes from a sub-Saharan country where there is no snow and he put on skis for the first time just six years ago, yet he managed to qualify for the Olympics; and in an era of multi-million dollar sponsorships, he managed to get this far largely unfunded.

LYLE STAFFORD / Reuters

Flag bearer Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong of Ghana leads his country's delegation into the stadium during the Vancouver Olympics opening ceremony on Feb. 12.Â

Kwame is scheduled to compete in the men's slalom event on Feb. 27 and his goals for the event are modest.

"It's about going up there, putting in a good performance, making myself proud, my family proud and my fans proud," Kwame said during a press conference at Whistler on Thursday. "When I go on the slope, it's just about me going through those gates as quickly as I can, and at the end I want to turn around, look at the clock and see a few other names behind me."

Kwame, 35, was born in Scotland, while his father was studying at the University of Glasgow. He returned to Ghana as a child and spent his formative and university years there, only returning to the U.K. in 2000.

A long-time athlete who was a competitive tennis and soccer player, Kwame started skiing just six years ago after getting a job at an indoor ski center in Milton Keynes, England, where he lived. After learning how to ski on artificial snow for two years, his first time on real snow was at Val D'Isere in France. He soon began racing at small events across Eastern Europe.

After failing to qualify for Torino in 2006, Kwame pressed on, racking up points in international competitions across Europe, as well as competing in Iran and elsewhere. Still, the married father of two hadn't won any big sponsorships and continued to work odd jobs in order to pay for his training. He never had a proper coach until recently and said he learned to ski by asking other national ski teams if he could tag along while they trained and copy-cat the better skiers.

Kwame dismisses comparisons between himself and "Eddie the Eagle" Edwards, the hapless British ski-jumper who essentially crashed the Calgary Games in 1988 – becoming a celebrity more for his lack of skill than anything else. If anything, Kwame prefers to be compared to the Jamaican bobsledders who he believes were competitive athletes.

Dirk Meissner / AP

Kwame Nkrumah Acheampong, of Ghana, takes a break from training to talk to the media on Mount Washington in British Columbia, on Feb. 2.Â

"I think where [Eddie the Eagle] lost track of the whole Olympic competition was when he turned the whole thing into a fun fair, merry-go-round kind of thing," said Kwame. "For me, sports are about competition… It's not about all the funny things you can do to create loads of money. I think the team around me understands that we are not here to joke."

Besides, in the wake of what many considered a mockery of the games by Edwards, the International Olympic Committee tightened the qualifying rules and instituted what has become known as the "Eddie the Eagle Rule." Olympic hopefuls now must compete in a series of international competitions and place in the top 30 percent or the top 50 competitors.

Despite qualifying for the games, Kwame remains humble about the sport and says the challenge of skiing is what he loves about it. "It is extremely difficult and I'll never be perfect at it, so there is always something to fight for. With sports, when I get really good at something, I get bored. Skiing is like impossible for me to get really good at it. I can only keep fighting, fighting, fighting… But at least I will not regret doing it because it has given me this opportunity to be here."

Media sensation
Sporting his signature "Ghana Ski Team" clothing – white jacket with leopard print spots and a white tee-shirt with Ghana's national star in the center and spots down the shoulders – the "Snow Leopard" has made quite an impression on the Whistler scene.

A phalanx of about 10 TV cameras and 30 members of the international press gathered for his press conference at the base of the mountain. With countless newspaper articles and TV feature stories already done on him, he has become one of the most popular figures of the games.  

The so-called "merry band of brothers" supporting him – his coach, manager, a Web master and a physical therapist – are using every means available to get his message out.

There is the Ghana Ski Team Official Website, a Facebook page, a Twitter account, YouTube video and even a song expected to come out on iTunes soon. 

There is even a Ghana Ski Team pin. The pin has become a must-have item among near fanatical Olympic pin collectors because only 1,500 were produced.

Petra Cahill/ msnbc.com

The gift shop "Chachkas" has adopted a Ghanaian theme for its store front in an homage to the "Snow Leopard."Â

"Chachkas," a gift shop in the upscale neighborhood of South Granville in Vancouver, has dedicated its entire storefront to the "Snow Leopard." The window display is painted in the colors of the Ghanaian flag –  red, yellow and green – and features a huge portrait of the "Snow Leopard."

Margo Ryan, one of the shops owners, explained that every store in the area was assigned a national flag by the local business association and once they got Ghana, they started reading up on the "Snow Leopard" and realized he was a "one man team" who learned to ski under such unlikely conditions that they decided to do what she described as "an homage" to him.

 "We sometimes get caught up in the flag instead of the athlete," said Rick Fuller, Ryan's business partner. But, he believes the Snow Leopard seems to represent the bigger ideas of "Olympic spirit and athleticism."  

That's exactly why Richard Harpham, Kwame's close friend and manager, believes the "Snow Leopard" story has resonated with people. With so much commercialization of the Olympics and the big sponsorships needed to qualify, Richard believes people have flocked to Kwame's story because it "gives them some of the spirit of the games."

Petra Cahill/ msnbc.com

The "Snow Leopard" and his entourage from the Ghana Ski Team arrive for a press conference in Whistler on Feb. 18.Â

Still, the Ghanaian Ski Team is struggling to find sponsors. While, according to Kwame, most athletes who manage to qualify for the Olympics have done so with a budget of about $250,000, he says he and his team have scraped by on about $75,000, and no one – not his coach, manager or himself – are paid. The money has gone toward expenses like food and travel. And, he says, the Ghanaian government hasn't paid for a thing. 

"The team is riding on the benevolence and kindness of individuals and organizations," said Kwame.

Although, at the end of January, Team Ghana did win its biggest sponsor so far: Paddy Power, an online Irish gambling company. "We love the underdog at Paddy Power," the company said in a statement, and they are betting big that Kwame will plow his way to becoming the big story at the Olympics.

And what are Paddy Power's current odds on how many competitors the Snow Leopard will beat? They are five to four that he won't beat another skier.

'Gotten this far'
Meantime, Kwame said he is proud to be here, but that he is just "trying to keep my feet on the ground."

He said that taking part in the Opening Ceremony made the whole experience real. "We were sandwiched between Germany and Great Britain and I think we got more cheers when we came in than Germany…. It was really great to come out and actually hear the volume kind of step up."

"It made me personally realize that I had actually gotten this far, to the Olympics, and it's just a great opportunity."

VANCOUVER – No matter where the Olympic torch is lit, one thing is sure to follow.

Scalpers.

It's not easy selling 1.6 million tickets and keeping them all out of the black market. But this week, walking around Vancouver's main playground for Olympic revelry – Robson Square – it didn't even seem like anyone was trying. Scalpers with placards hung around their necks that read "I NEED TICKETS" were crawling through the crowd, hard selling anyone within ear shot. That included, by the way, plenty of uniformed law enforcement officials.

Depending on whom you ask, scalping is a) illegal, b) illegal, but not in practice, and c) completely legal.

No matter: Tickets are not supposed to be re-sold. The Vancouver Olympic Committee says it can disable tickets that aren't used by the original buyer. Scalpers, however, know better - that's generally an idle threat.

So, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. To stave off a series of large-scale ticket scams that plagued the Beijing Olympics, the Vancouver organizers created their own "fan-to-fan" marketplace online, a sort of StubHub or eBay for the Olympics. The committee gets a generous 10 percent on each side of the sale, meaning scalping has now become an official sponsor of these Olympic games.

But despite all these efforts, scalping has become big news. Even on a heavy news day that included more accusations about the allegedly unsafe luge track, and revelations that an unticketed spectator managed to sneak his way within a few feet of Vice President Joe Biden, Vancouver Olympic Committee spokeswoman Renee Marie-Valade found herself answering questions about ticket sales and empty seats.

First, she claimed that counterfeit ticket scams are minimal – before steering people to the official ticket Web site.

"I don't have a number to give you but I can tell you that the numbers have been smaller than we expected," she said. "We've been quite aggressive in publicizing when we have seen websites and other opportunities where vendors who are not legitimately selling tickets are doing so and to warn consumers sot be very careful of those types of tickets. Again, the best way to not be disappointed is to buy your ticket directly from us."

Then, after admitting there have been plenty of empty seats at some venues, she gave a wordy defense of the ticket distribution policy.

"It's a complex environment because we have tickets that are sold to the public. Typically, what we are seeing is those seats that are sold to the public are being used. Some of the blocs that you are seeing may in fact be not used through a variety of different programs that we have. We have an obligation to provide seats to athletes who may or may not be able to come watch the sports," she said. "There's a whole team of people who go to each sport event and look at where the empty seats are and come back and analyze what we can do for the next one to make sure those seats are filled...I can tell you there is a ticket SWAT team if you will that looks at every venue at an event and looks at how the tickets are being used and what we can do to ensure that those seats are being used."

And finally, she told reporters to rest assured that scalping was under control.

"It's important for those of you who may not be from British Columbia to know that scalping is not illegal here. So we are certainly aware that people may be selling tickets. We keep a close eye out for it," she said. "We are watching outside the venues to see what activity is going on but we've really focused our efforts on consumer awareness of buying their tickets directly from us."

How are they doing? For more on the attempt to quash unauthorized ticket sales, visit my Red Tape Chronicles column.

VANCOUVER – As any expert will tell you, security is all about perception. And the Vancouver Games are no different.

Canadian officials say they've put in place a plan to keep these Olympics safe and secure, without smothering the festivities in phalanxes of police and troops. But how safe are they really? Objectively, there's no easy answer. But one's own perceptions always creep in.

The Canadian government has spent five times their initial security budget (of about $200 million) on an integrated, intelligence-driven "net." This combines more than 15,000 police, troops and private security agents with state-of-the-art surveillance assets, from a fiber-optic command and control center, on the ground to a fleet of Canadian warships off-shore to dozens of "eyes in the air" patrolling and protecting the no-fly zone over key Olympics venues.

Still, when I walk the streets of Vancouver, especially near many of the Olympic venues, I don't feel particularly safe.

Not safe? In Vancouver? Is there something wrong with me? Granted, my perception is colored by the time I've spent in high-risk datelines like Afghanistan and Iraq. In Kabul or Baghdad or even Amman, Jordan you cannot enter a major tourist hotel without a top-to-bottom, inside-out security search. Metal detectors and pat-downs are common fare, especially since the triple suicide bombings in three popular Western hotels in Amman, Jordan in 2005. And the attack on Mumbai's Taj Mahal Hotel also showed the vulnerability of high profile, but soft targets. 

Yet – taking but one example – anyone can enter a certain five-star Vancouver hotel that sits only yards from an Olympic venue and the main media center without encountering more than a couple of chatty concierges and – at most – one or two policemen who seem much more focused on collecting Olympic pins than finding hidden bombs.

I've come in at times when the front glass doors were wide open, without a concierge or cop in sight. In a place where escalators transport thousands of visitors every day, how is it that no "mag and bag" (magnetic wand and bag search) or any increased security footprint has made it here?

VIDEO: Prepping for spotlight, Vancouver tightens security

And then there's the matter of the recent security breach during the Opening Ceremony. According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a man believed to be mentally disturbed was still clever enough to penetrate at least two layers of security inside BC Place Stadium with a blatantly phony ID pass. The man came within a dozen rows of the VIP box where Vice President Joe Biden and other dignitaries were seated, before he was spotted and apprehended by a pair of sharp, female, plainclothes Mounties.

It turns out that the individual who managed to dupe his way through lines of private security agents did so with a pass he printed from the Internet and laminated, with no photo ID.

Canadian police and military officials immediately passed the buck, claiming that the breach was the fault of the private contractors. But the episode has done little to settle my nerves – if a middle-aged, imbalanced man who may have only wanted to say "hi" to the U.S. vice president could get as close as he did with a forged ID, how close would a professionally trained terrorist get?

'We can't lock down the city'
So far the police have treated the breach as an aberration and don't plan to implement any changes in security procedures. As for the five-star hotel in question, Canadian officials say they're satisfied with the level of security at the building, reminding me that Vancouver is an emerging economic powerhouse – not a battle zone.

"We can't lock down the city. We can't lock down all the hotels. It is still a place that is expected to carry on with tourism, and commerce, and with visitors," one Canadian security official told me.

Fair enough. But one man's tourism is another man's terrorism – and soft targets, like hotels and trains and malls that were concerns in past Olympic Games seem to be getting scant attention in Vancouver.

Don't get me wrong. I appreciate the user-friendly, laid back Canadian approach when it comes to law enforcement. But I have yet to have my tote-bag checked at my hotel, at any level, and assume no one else has either.

Of course, the threat level at these Games – we're told – is low. But the difference between low and severe is one tragic attack. And where would you strike, inside a venue where security is heavy and backed by surveillance cameras? Probably not.

It's certainly friendly to see uniformed police chatting with hotel guests or offering to take pictures of them with their happy-snap cameras. Few could imagine such pleasant scenes turning ugly. But I can, at almost every turn.

So – forgive my paranoia – but will someone kindly check my bag??

By Tom Aspell, NBC News correspondent

KABUL — Reports reaching Kabul Wednesday say the governor of Marjah in Helmand province raised the Afghan flag over the town's central market, signifying an end to Taliban rule.

A five-day military operation launched by U.S. Marines, British soldiers and units of the Afghan army managed to secure the market area after Marines moving in from the north linked up with U.S. troops under constant attack from Taliban snipers.

NBC News cameraman Sebastian Rich, embedded with U.S. Marines, said their advance into the town over the weekend was hampered by roadside bombs and booby traps that had to be diffused.

While U.S. forces say Taliban resistance appears to have faltered over the past 48 hours, there are still reports of Taliban snipers hiding in haystacks and poppy fields exchanging fire with Marines.

Military commanders have thrown 15,000 soldiers from the U.S., Britain and the Afghan army into the battle for central Helmand.  The Taliban are thought to be fielding about a thousand fighters to defend towns and villages where they have been active for years.

The slow pace of the battle appears to have been dictated by the need to spare civilian casualties.  One of the key aims of this offensive is to capture the hearts and minds of Afghans who live in the area and who might be persuaded to switch their allegiance from the Taliban to Afghan government forces if they perceive it will raise their standard of living. 
U.S. and British forces telegraphed their intentions well in advance of the battle to give Taliban forces the chance to withdraw from defensive positions in civilian areas.

Altaf Qadri / AP

Senior Afghan Army officer instructs a soldier where to hoist an Afghan flag on a building in a market in Marjah, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Feb. 17.

Showing the flag
Over the weekend an errant rocket from a multiple launcher manned by American forces killed 12 Afghan civilians, prompting the commander of the American forces in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, to apologize to Afghan President Hamid Karzai for the loss of life.
In Kabul, the U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, said he expected civilian aid teams to move in to Marjah shortly and begin work on rebuilding infrastructure.

The Afghan government is also anxious to begin showing its flag throughout Helmand province, while at the same time extending its offer for Taliban fighters to lay down their weapons.   The government sees control of Marjah as vital for its plans to strengthen its army and extend control over the rest of Afghanistan.

By Paul Goldman, NBC News
TEL AVIV - As time goes by more details are emerging concerning the mysterious assassination in Dubai of Mahmoud al- Mabhouh, a top Hamas militant.

Dubai police showed closed-circuit video of the alleged killers arriving at the airport, checking into different hotels, shopping at a mall and staking out Mabhouh's hotel room.

The hit squad was long gone by the time the Dubai police found Mabhouh's body, leaving the police with the painstaking job of sifting through hours of security camera footage trying to track down the killers.

Dubai police identified 11 suspects holding British, Irish, German and French passports, and once the passport photos reached worldwide publication a few people here in Israel woke up to a new reality.

At least seven people who live in Israel share names with suspects identified by Dubai police. It turns out that whatever group masterminded the assassination apparently stole their identities. These seven Britons suddenly found themselves enveloped in the world of espionage and murder. The newspaper headlines are covered with reactions by these Israelis: "I'm angry, upset and scared" said Melvyn Adam Mildiner, a British national living in Beit Shemesh. He added, "I went to bed with pneumonia and woke up a murderer."

Paul Keely lives in a kibbutz called Nachshonim and told us over the phone: "I'm  waiting for somebody to tell me what's happening, I just want my life back."

The British citizens thrust into the center of an international murder plot have spoken of their shock, anger and fear. ITV's Phil Reay Smith reports.

VANCOUVER – In response to widespread grumbling, tourists and sightseers can now get a closer look – and a better picture – of the Olympic cauldron.

While viewers are still separated from the cauldron by a chain-link fence and a concrete barricade, construction crews worked overnight to move the fence about 80 feet closer to the south side of what has quickly become the must-see Olympic landmark in this city.

Petra Cahill/ msnbc.com

With the chain link barricade moved, now visitors can get much a much better view of the Olympic cauldron.Â

Now viewers can get a much better view of the massive steel structure that sits on the waterfront plaza next to the International Broadcast Center. Previously only media with proper accreditation were able to get an unobstructed view of the iconic torch – the "beauty shot" which has been a feature of many of the television broadcasts from Vancouver.

The fence, erected for security reasons, has been criticized as "ratty-looking," "prison-like" and "un-Olympic."

But it now has a gap at about eye-level for a 6-foot-tall person to allow people with cameras to get a clear shot of the torch.

Petra Cahill/ msnbc.com

A gap in the chain link fence on the southside of the Olympic cauldron offers visitors a way to take an unobstructed picture of the landmark.

With clear blue skies on Wednesday, early morning sightseers were already taking advantage of the adjusted fence and snapping pictures.

An observation point on top of a nearby one-storey building also will also now be open to the public, according to Vancouver Olympic officials. The rooftop viewing deck, which will offer the scenic backdrop of Vancouver's North Shore Mountains and Burrard Inlet, will allow visitors from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily until the close of the games.

Petra Cahill/ msnbc.com

Visitors take advantage of the gap in the fence to get a clear shot of the cauldron.Â

The Olympic cauldron has become a major attraction in downtown Vancouver. National hockey icon Wayne Gretzky lit it as part of the opening ceremony on Friday night.

Click here for complete coverage of the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

VANCOUVER – There is at least one Canadian pastime sport you won't see at the Winter Olympics: ice-fishing.

NBC News' Carlos Rigau and Raul Jaramillo drove 200 miles north of Vancouver to the frozen Lake Nicola, near Merritt, Canada, to learn more about what inspires people to sit in the freezing cold for hours on end.

They met with two ice fishermen who seemed to be the only people on the 13 mile long lake and to learned more about the secrets of the sport.

Guess what they use for bait? You'll have to watch the video to find out.

VIDEO: Gone ice fishing!

VANCOUVER – Every now and then, you meet an individual or a family that is so special that they stop you in your tracks. As a journalist, you try to step back and not get too close, try not to get sucked right into what makes them so special. Snowboarder Kevin Pearce, his parents, Simon and Pia Pearce, and his brothers are just that kind of family.

One would think that having a father who is a world renowned glass-blower, artist, owner and operator of the Simon Pearce glass and handmade pottery stores, as well as several high-end restaurants, would be special enough; or having a mother who has written a top selling cookbook or an uncle who is the new Manhattan District Attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr.

However, upon meeting Kevin and his family in their hometown of Norwich, Vermont, none of these things are as impressive as the closeness of this family and the relationships between the brothers.

VIDEO: Family, spirit and miracles helping snowboarder Kevin Pearce heal

You may have seen Kevin Tibbles' story on Nightly News on Monday night about Kevin and the terrible snowboarding training accident that nearly took his life on New Year's Eve on a half-pipe in Utah. We've been following Kevin and his family for a little while now and can only hope our story did the family a little justice.

Kevin is a 22-year-old snowboarder, who has beaten the now legendary Shaun White twice in the last few years. He was a favorite to make a very strong U.S. Olympic team and was considered by many to be one of the few who had a chance to take White's place on the snowboarding circuit.

To say that Kevin is a low-key, modest, grounded young man would be quite an understatement. His relationship with his older brother David, who has Down's Syndrome, and is a Special Olympics ski champion, is remarkable to see. Kevin calls David his inspiration.

On News Year's Eve, Kevin suffered severe brain trauma in Park City Utah, after slamming his head on the edge of the half-pipe. He was airlifted to the University of Utah hospital where he was touch and go. His family rushed across the country to be at his side. His brother Adam has slept in his room nearly every night since.

John Gress / Reuters

Halfpipe snowboarder Kevin Pearce poses for a portrait during the 2010 U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit in Chicago on Sept. 11, 2009.Â

Just over a month later, Kevin has now been transferred to Craig Hospital in Denver, a world renowned rehabilitation hospital. Simon and Pia were kind enough to invite us out for an interview the day after Kevin was brought to Denver nearly two weeks ago.

His transfer is an indication of the progress Kevin has made, but as you can imagine, Kevin has a long way to go. His mother says the doctors are amazed at his progress. "They told me that they really feel that Kevin's recovery is nothing short of a miracle. I really believe that the people who have worked with him are part of that miracle."

He is now beginning to speak again. He is learning to walk with assistance, yet his vision is impaired from the accident. Still, his parents say that that his spirit and his low-key, but determined, attitude hasn't changed a bit.

"He is the exact sweet self that he's always been," said his mother. "He's just kind of getting back into doing all the stuff that he needs to learn. And he's smiling!"

Kevin, his parents, and his doctors all watched our Nightly News broadcast in the hospital Monday night. It's just another sign that Kevin is moving forward.

According to Pia, his brother David cried with joy back in Vermont watching the segment at the thought of coming out to see Kevin. David was scheduled to arrive in Denver on Tuesday to see his younger brother for the first time since the accident.

"He's going to wrap his arms around Kevin and put yet another big smile on Kevin's face. We can't wait," said his other brother Adam.

Grateful for every day
The first question Kevin asked his doctors when he was able to speak again was when and if he will ever be able to snowboard again.

Neither his doctors nor his parents have an answer.

"I don't spend a lot of time thinking about the future right now. I'm incredibly grateful to have him where he is right now," said Simon, his father. "If he never snowboards again, that's fine with me. I wouldn't put it past him either."

Pia feels the same. "My hope is that Kevin can just reach whatever potential is possible for him. I have total and complete confidence that he will do that. I am so optimistic."

While it's far too easy to gloss over the challenges Kevin faces, it's hard not to think that with a family this special around him, Kevin will continue to make great strides.

As for the rest of the Pearce family, they appear ready for the fight as well.

"I know we won't look back on this as an awful period in our lives. I think we'll look back on it as actually a very powerful period because it has brought our family even closer together," said Simon.

VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, commonly referred to as VANOC, is coming under increased criticism at its daily press briefings about shortcomings at the games. 

Tuesday's presser was no exception. VANOC insists that some issues – like those related to the warm weather – are simply out of its control. But other complaints have VANOC on the defensive.

Things such as the fact that bus drivers, who are supposed to be shuttling ticket holders to events, have been getting lost on their way to the venues. And that shuttle buses have been breaking down and have to be replaced. There also have been a lot of complaints about long lines at concession stands.

Mark Ralston / AFP - Getty Images

The Olympic Flame burns in the cauldron situated behind a wire fence next to Canada Place in downtown Vancouver on Monday.Â

The Olympic torch cauldron has been a major point of contention. The cauldron stands behind a chain-link fence. It's not only unsightly, but it makes it extremely difficult for Olympic fans to take photos of. One reporter called the barricade in front of the torch "a tacky looking prison-type fence" that blocks the public's view of the Olympic torch.

At Tuesday's briefing VANOC said it is close to unveiling a plan to address complaints that the cauldron is inaccessible to the public and will likely announce it on Wednesday.

Another reporter noted that lots of VIP sections at the events are empty, while regular folks can't get tickets to some of these events.

One reporter even asked if this was the "worse beginning of the games ever?"

VANOC's response to most of these questions was: It is doing its best and the vast majority of people are enjoying the games and are not experiencing the negative things that international reporters are looking at.

The International Olympic Committee is standing by VANOC's claim that these are well-organized games and the majority of spectators are happy. IOC also said it hopes better weather is on the horizon.

VANOC took some pride that it was able to get the Cypress Mountain competition areas ready despite the challenging weather.

The organization also said they created the schedule of events with a good deal of flexibility built in, so they are confident that all the events will eventually take place.

Finally, when Mark Adams, the director of communication for the IOC, was asked if the organization had any regrets about holding these Winter Games in such temperate conditions, he responded with an emphatic "No."

 
CAIRO – I have finally solved a mystery that ranks with the greatest in Egypt: not, as you might think, how the Pyramids were built, but why is traffic in Cairo so crazy?

Haja Amina, my driving instructor, showed me the answer. After several years of taking taxis, subways and getting rides, I finally decided to enter the mayhem that passes for driving in Egypt. 

Swathed in black veil and robe, in her late fifties, and looking more ready for grocery shopping than driving, Amina pulled her dusty yellow Fiat over to the curb and frowned at me. I hopped in and we were off to a quiet residential area for my first lesson. I knew I was in the hands of a pro when she seamlessly merged into traffic and, horn blaring, crossed an intersection with complete disregard for cars screeching to a halt or swerving to avoid us.

The quiet Maadi suburb was perfect for drivers-in-training. In fact, there were about five other neophytes perfecting their parking and reversing skills with rival driving instructors. But despite the competition, the atmosphere was collegial. Trainers had their students double park so they could greet fellow trainers. The only other traffic was a donkey cart piled high with beautiful, fresh produce.

"He has everything, tomatoes, green beans, cauliflower," enthused Amina. "I always get from him. Would you like to buy some vegetables." Determined to keep my mind on shifting gears, I declined. It was to be my first experience with manual transmission having driven automatic cars in the United States.   

'Don't look right or left'
After a brief introduction on how to shift from neutral to first, we switched places. When I tried to adjust the side mirror, it dangled limply in my hand.

"Don't worry," Amina said encouragingly, "just look in the rear-view mirror." She gestured to an enormous curved mirror that spanned almost the length of the windshield. I unsuccessfully struggled to fasten the seat belt. "You won't need it," she said.

"Now just stare straight ahead when you drive, to a point far off in the distance. Don't look right or left," Amina said.

A Maadi driver-training car navigates the Cairo suburb.

"But what about cars coming from the side?" I ventured. "Just move your eyes, like this, not your head," she said as she darted her eyes left and right.

On my first attempt, the car died. Unfazed, Amina hailed another trainer to look under the hood. The car purred to life. "It's the electricity; I will get this fixed next week," Amina said with a smile.

I was finally off, foot on the gas, in first gear, crawling at about 5 miles per hour.

"Move your hand down," ordered Amina. Apparently, steering was to be covered in a later lesson I discovered, as Amina kept a firm grasp on the wheel while I drove.

"The gas pedal is bad, very bad but we are obliged to use it. Nothing bad can happen when you step on the brake, only the gas." Amina reinforced the lesson by clucking disapprovingly each time I accelerated.

Car vs. puppy
After driving, stopping, restarting and shifting into first around the same four blocks, I felt prepared for a challenge. And there it was.

A street pup was lapping at water that had filled a pothole, its mother placidly looking on. I tried to swerve to avoid the mongrel but Amina held the wheel in a steel grip. She owned the road. Amina pressed the horn angrily, but the thirsty mongrel ignored her. At the last moment, Amina backed down and veered to the left.

After an hour on the same circuit, a yawning Amina decided we had enough and abruptly asked me to pull over. On the way back home, she explained how she started teaching driving 20 years ago, hired more instructors and started her own company.

"I have trained all the women drivers in Maadi,"  Amina said.

That would explain it, I thought. But then, who better to teach offensive driving in a city where any forward progress depends on a contest of wills?