ATLANTA – While kissing a frog may not fit into your Leap Day celebration plans, you might find yourself visiting some in the near future.

More than 200 zoos, aquariums, and botanical gardens across the country, including the Atlanta Botanical Garden, are showcasing special exhibits in honor of the 2008 leap year, declaring it the Year of the Frog.

Ron Holt / Atlanta Botanical Gar

The Granular Glass Frog.

And even if you're not kissing them, frogs and their cousins do need a little love. According to the Amphibian Ark organization, one third of the 6,000 amphibian species – frogs, toads, newts, salamanders - around the world are in decline or threatened.

Amphibians, say the organization, are an essential part of the global ecosystem and key indicators of overall health of the environment. Threats to these vulnerable creatures include habitat loss, climate change, pollution and disease.

When frog populations die off, it causes a disharmony in that ecosystem that disrupts the delicate balance of plants and animals. Amphibian Ark was formed to help protect the most critically endangered species through breeding programs.

"Avoiding this mass extinction event represents what is thought to be the greatest challenge for conservation in our history," said Ron Gagliardo, chief amphibian conservation specialist at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.  

Dr. Brad Wilson / Atlanta Botani

The Horned Marsupial Frog with young

Gagliardo and Joseph Mendelson, curator of herpetology at Zoo Atlanta, recently rescued nearly 150 frogs from a Central American rain forest before a fast-moving fungus could wipe them out.

Dr. Brad Wilson / Atlanta Botani

The Mysteriosus frog seen in Peru last week.

The two herpetologists (a fancy word for amphibian and reptile experts) spent two days in the rain forest in Panama collecting frogs and placing them in plastic deli containers for transport – in their suitcases! – to the United States.

Once back in Atlanta, Mendelson and Gagliardo went to work setting up a perfect frog world. In two short years, they have created nearly perfect environments where the once severely threatened frogs are happy and breeding. "We can administer certain hormones to frogs and predict within minutes when they will mate," explained Garliardo.

The program has been so successful that the pair is now sharing their offspring with zoos, aquariums and museums around the nation including the Bronx Zoo, the National Aquarium in Baltimore, the Como Zoo in St. Paul, Minneapolis, the Houston Zoo and Zoo Atlanta.

But they won't just be staying in America – the plan is return a considerable number to their home environments as soon as it is safe. 

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – New York has the Statue of Liberty, San Francisco the Golden Gate Bridge and Hollywood has that sign up in the hills overlooking Tinseltown.

It was constructed in 1923 as an advertisement for a real estate subdivision called "Hollywoodland." Later, the sign fell into disrepair and was acquired by the city. In 1949, when it was being renovated, the last four letters were removed, leaving the present-day Hollywood sign.

VIDEO: Saving the Hollywood sign

Now, fans of the sign are up in arms about plans by a group of Chicago investors to develop 138 acres of nearby land as lots for luxury homes. Promotional material touts the property as a perfect spot for multi-million dollar mansions with spectacular 360-degree views of Los Angeles. But one city official claims if those plans were carried out, the result would be huge eyesore.

"It's a crazy idea," said Los Angeles City Council Member Tom LaBonge, "I'm not going to let it happen. The city is not going to let it happen."

Now, LaBonge is trying to find a way for the city to purchase the land, perhaps calling on Hollywood luminaries to ante up the money to acquire the property. One sticking point: the city believes the land is worth only $6 million at most, while the investors are asking $22 million for it.

"It's a fair market price," said Sarah Blanchard, a realtor who represents the sellers.

But at $22 million, the investors would be reaping a huge profit. They acquired the land in 2002 for only $1.7 million at a time when no one in Los Angeles thought it could be developed because it was inaccessible, surrounded entirely by city property. But the investors did their homework and found a loophole in their favor.

The property was originally bought by billionaire Howard Hughes, who had successfully sued the city and won a one hundred foot wide easement, still valid, to construct a road up to the peak of the mountain. Hughes had planned to build a love nest there for his girlfriend, actress Ginger Rogers. But when she danced out of his life, telling people she didn't want to be cooped up on a remote mountaintop, he left the acreage vacant.

"The more we learned about the property, the more we realized we'd found a Van Gogh at a garage sale," said Keith Dickson, one of the partners in the investment group, Fox River Financial Resources.

Councilman LaBonge argues that the land and the views are valuable but that his constituents want the mountain left as it is. "It is the dream, the beauty of the land, that is what Los Angeles is about," said LaBonge, "That's what Hollywood is."

Hollywood is also about making deals, and that's what the city is looking for as it tries to preserve the land surrounding the world-famous sign.

DEKALB, Ill. –  I arrived on the campus of Northern Illinois University in the dark. It wasn't until sunup, a little before 7 a.m. this morning, as the flags fluttered at half-staff and clanged against their poles, that I saw them.

And the drops of blood. The sidewalks here are spattered with them, clearly left by injured students fleeing the horror.

VIDEO: Gunman kills 5 in campus attack

One student, who was in the lecture hall where the shooting occurred that left five dead, said he saw a man, dressed in black, enter the room; and then, "Boom." It was like a movie, he said. Some of the students, so used to seeing this sort of behavior IN movies, at first thought it was a joke, or a drill.

But the blood, frozen on the pathways of this campus, heading away from Cole Hall in all directions, is very real.

Today this college community is having a difficult time dealing with that.

By John Rutherford, Producer, NBC News, Washington

 WASHINGTON –  This is a story with a heartwarming beginning, a very sad middle, and a happy ending.

It started when two stray dogs were adopted off the streets of Baghdad by a soldier named Peter Neesley. Peter fed them, built them a dog house, and loved them dearly. He named them Boris and Mama.

Now comes the sad part. On Christmas Day, Peter died suddenly in Baghdad. The Army said he died in his sleep of an undetermined cause; his family has ordered a private autopsy.

And here's the happy ending.

In their grief, his family reached out to others for help in bringing Boris and Mama to America.

"Though nothing can bring back Peter, bringing the dogs home would be like getting a little bit of Peter back," Peter's aunt, Julie Dean, wrote me on Jan. 4. (Click here to read my initial story about Boris and Mama.)

Peter Neesley's dogs arrive in the U.S.

Many people here and in Iraq offered to help, but complications soon arose. First, attempts by volunteers to enter the military installation where the dogs were located (one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces) were unsuccessful. Then Mama was taken by an Iraqi general and was gone for many days.

Obtaining veterinarian services for the dogs' passage was another major ordeal. But then a courageous veterinarian in Baghdad stepped forward and agreed to give them their shots and certify them for travel.

"This is my job, this is my passion, this is my love," the Iraqi vet wrote. "Its great feeling that these Iraqi dogs will be safe and loved. True it was hard, but now I am feeling a lot more brave and willing to help anyone."

Finally, late last week, Boris and Mama arrived at their new home in Detroit.

"The road to bringing these two stray dogs home certainly has shown how people from all over with caring, perseverance, and commitment can make wonderful things happen," Julie Dean wrote.

Amen.

Washington Producer John Rutherford is a decorated Vietnam veteran. He posts a weekly tribute to service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan at www.dailynightly.msnbc.com (click on "John Rutherford" under "categories") and also files stories on the military at  http://john-rutherford.newsvine.com/.

By Carrie Dann
NBC News producer

JACKSON, Tenn. -- Politics, for the most part, is about subtlety. Political journalists live for intimations, veiled attacks, shadow-boxing and crafty word choice.  An adjective can be newsworthy, a verb can be cataclysmic.

There's nothing subtle about flattened cars and roofless homes.

That was my first thought when I arrived in Jackson, the tornado-ravaged town that woke up yesterday morning to mangled dormitories and wrecked neighborhoods. 

The local paper's headline: "NIGHTMARE."  It took some looking to find out who had won the state's primary the previous day. As if anyone in Jackson cared.

As a political journalist used to asking questions about online fundraising and local endorsements, I quickly discovered that my regular gig is pretty cushy.  It's a lot easier to ask John McCain about the economic stimulus package than it is to ask a college kid what it was like to be trapped in a rickety second-floor dorm room after the funnel cloud touched down. 

In politics, a human story is a rare find. In a disaster, they jump out at you even when you're not looking: A coffee shop owner whose calmness is almost not betrayed by her shaking hands. A front lawn strewn with a child's toys. A pharmacy with emergency sprinklers still mimicking the rain that finally stopped overnight.

Politics isn't entirely absent here.  Reporters implored FEMA officials at a press conference this morning to describe how the federal government will help those who have lost their homes. (President Bush will be here Friday to survey the wreckage.) 

The mother of a student at Baptist Union University asked me to tell her what it was like to meet Gov. Mike Huckabee, who she supports. Standing mere feet away from the apartment where her terrified daughter had called from hours before, it was clear that she wanted to talk about something other than the storm.

And a local journalist asked me yesterday if I knew who had won the primary contest in the state.  "Normally I would know," he admitted sheepishly, rubbing sleepless eyes. "But I've been busy."

Knee deep in rubble, in the shadow of telephone poles bent like drinking straws, it took me a minute to remember who won myself. 

Because, for once, it didn't really matter.

Forget Super Tuesday. In New Orleans, it's Fat Tuesday - Mardi Gras. 

The holiday falls early this year due to the religious calendar; in fact, it's the earliest it's been since 1913. With such an early date, it seems to have taken a little time for the revelry to ramp up. But now, things are definitely in full swing.   

There's a certain point in each Carnival season when you can feel a vibe, an electric pulse throughout the city. This year, it seemed to take hold last Friday with the start of the weekend. There seems to have been a noticeable feeling of joy in the air since then. It all culminates today as hundreds of thousands of people take to the street across the area. 

Despite the overplayed images of debauchery and bawdiness, Mardi Gras really is above all else a family affair. That often shocks people who think of the celebration as an adult's only party. 

The rowdiness of Bourbon Street is just one aspect of the day, and it is one place you won't normally find a lot of locals. They leave that to the tourists. 

A day to enjoy
The average New Orleanian celebrates with family and friends.  Early this morning, crowds of friendly people lined the parade route along historic St. Charles Avenue. Barbecue grills and gumbo pots were going full force. In suburban Metairie the crowds were huge. Kids played ball as they awaited the arrival of the Krewe of Argus parade. 

NBC's own Hoda Kotb and Al Roker are Grand Marshalls in the parade this year and have been feeling the love from the crowd. Kotb, who once worked at one of the local stations here in New Orleans, can't move a few feet without people wishing her well or taking a photo with her. 

Today is a day to put aside the mundane and the ordinary. Businesses and schools are closed.  All thoughts of worries and strife are forgotten. That is the real beauty of Mardi Gras. It's one day to step back from reality and enjoy life.  At midnight, the street sweepers will come through, putting an end to the celebrations, and tomorrow things return to normal.

By John Rutherford, Producer, NBC News, Washington

 WASHINGTON – Every month Walter Reed Army Medical Center holds a Purple Heart ceremony for its patients wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A general usually makes brief remarks, the soldiers come forward with their families to receive their medals, and everyone sings a rousing rendition of "The Army Song."

(Things have come a long way since I was wounded in Vietnam and a soldier tossed a Purple Heart on my bed at a field hospital in An Khe. That was the Army's idea of a Purple Heart ceremony in 1970.) 

Mark Wilson / Getty Images

U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Jeremy Murphy wears a Purple Heart he just received during a ceremony at Walter Reed Medical Center on Feb. 1  in Washington, DC.

After Walter Reed's ceremony, reporters are allowed to interview the Purple Heart recipients who agree to talk. I love interviewing soldiers because they speak from the gut. No spin. No BS. I ask a question; they answer it, sir.

This past Friday I asked two of them about a recent AP survey which found only one in five Americans knows of anyone killed or wounded in Iraq. I wanted to know if the soldiers believe their sacrifices are appreciated by the rest of the country.

"Before I got injured, I would have probably said no," said Army Sgt. Juan Roldan, 23, of Paterson, N.J. "But now a lot of people have helped us, fortunately, and I think they do appreciate and understand what's going on."

Roldan lost both legs and suffered other injuries in a roadside bombing on Dec. 29, 2006, in Baghdad. He's still recovering at Walter Reed.

Mark Wilson / Getty Images

U.S. Army Sergeant Juan Roldan holds his 9-month-old daughter Bryana after receiving the Purple Heart during a ceremony at Walter Reed Medical Center on Feb. 1 in Washington, DC.Â

Army Staff Sgt. Jeremy Murphy, 34, of Snohomish, Wash., is recuperating at the hospital from a bullet wound to his head on Aug. 13, 2007, in Baghdad.

"I think [appreciation] depends a lot on the person," Murphy said. "I think generally speaking, yeah, there is an appreciation for what's going on over there."

And how long do they think U.S. troops will remain in Iraq?

"I think we'll be over there a long time, for a long time," Murphy said. "We'll have a base over there for many, many, many years, 20 to 30 years."

Roldan said the U.S. has already paid a "hard price."

"I think we've been there too long," said Roldan. "But I also think that just stopping it all, I don't think it would be too good."

A third Purple Heart recipient, Army Spc. Bradley Buckland, 22, of Detroit, Maine, did not want to be interviewed. He was shot in the hip by a sniper while on patrol in Balad, Iraq.

I am already looking forward to going out to Walter Reed again on Feb. 29. If you have any questions you'd like me to ask the soldiers, let me know, and I'll ask them.

Washington Producer John Rutherford is a decorated Vietnam veteran. He posts a weekly tribute at www.dailynightly.msnbc.com to service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan in the Daily Nightly blog.