and that story starts with a league in 1956 two women, mary white and mary ann thompson were sit together at a christian family movement picnic breastfeeding their babies and limenting the fact not many other people were breastfeeding their babies and mothers didn't have enough support if they chose to breastfed -- breast-feed. the center piece of their project was breastfeeding because already, right at the inception, right at the beginning, breastfeeding was symbolic of a larger set of philosophy which included the mother staying at home and nurturing the children and mothers shouldn't work once they have children and the role of the father as the breadwinner. the conception of family and philosophical picture that went along with the focus on breastfeeding. so already you have the rise or the beginning ways of breastfeeding advocacy using breastfeeding as an analogy. the next big movement is the nestle boycott in the 1970's. nestle and other formula companies looked out on the developing world and saw nothing but a vast untapped network of potential formula feeders. so they initiate ag

nbc's anne thompson is at vatican city. >> reporter: good morning, sheinelle. the vatican is trying to tamp down the furor over the pope's comments. pope's words were not a personal attack. he did not mention trump by name. now like popes before him, he is in the middle of the political debate. pope francis paid at the border as a pastor. but the words on the papal plane sounded political to many. saying a person who thinks only about building walls and not bridges is not christian. >> for a religious leader to question a person's faith is disgraceful. >> it wasn't pope francis's intention to get involved in that particular candidate. i think it was donald trump's reaction and other people's reaction is turn this into a political episode. >> reporter: they have a history of smiling, but clashing on policy. john paul ii took issue with clinton and bush for the pro abortion position and the republican for the second iraq war. obama for supporting abortion and stem cell research. and this past september, francis urged congress to take action on climate change. >>

c's anne thompsons a vatican ci. >>orter: good morning, sheinelle. the vatican is trying totamp downheuror overhe pe's comments. th ssperson singhe pope's words w not a persona attack id not mention trump by me now l pesefore, he is t mid oth pital debate. pope francisai a the borr as a stor. bu the words on the papal plane ded political to ny. abou blding walls and not bridge is not ristia >> for a relig ldeo es a peth disgracefu >> it was pope francis inntion to g involve in that particular ate. ink itasonaltrump' reaction atherpeop's action is turn this into a political epode. >> rter: they have a htory of smilg, but clashgn policy. john ii took i wh clton a bh for e pro abortionosition and the republican for t sond iraq war. nedict admonishedsint ama for supportingbortio and stem cell rese.d ptembe fra urd cgres to take aio onclimechange. thenvironntal chlenge- reporte it americ amican politicians. lastweeke id theh does not need princes. and th week showednger over somee llingn a hairr aperson i don't le fighting wi the pe. >>eporter: aer a, the

nbc's anne thompson is atn city. >> reporter: good morning, the vatican is trying to tamp down the furor over the pope's comments. the attack. he did not mention trump by name. now like popes before the middle of the political debate. pope francis paid at the border as a pastor. but the words on sounded political to many. saying a person who thinks only about building walls and not bridges is not christian. >> for a religious question a person's faith is disgraceful. >> it wasn't pope francis's intention to get involved in that particular hink it was donald trump's reaction and other people's reaction is turn this into a political orter: they have a history of smiling, but clashing on policy. clinton abortion position and the republican for the second iraq war. benedict admonished president obama for supportingd stem cell research. and this past september, francis urged congress to take action on climate change. >> challenge -- >> reporter: it is not just american pe francis in 2014 here and last week, he said the church does not need princes.d this week showed anger over someone pulling

i'm anne thompson in rome. now back to you. >>> if you are planning to fly somewhere for spring break you may want to book your trip now to save some money. fare compare.com analyzed popular spring break destinations looking at how families and college students can save on airfare. they say if you book tickets this week, you can save up to 30% as compared to folks who book trips at the last minute. >>> and if you need some ideas, the d.c. travel and adventure show is rolling into your area this weekend. nbc 4 is a proud partner of the event which showcases hundreds of destinations from india to the caribbean to even some local hotspots. it also features cooking demonstrations, dance performances, and a few hands-on activities. the show runs saturday and sunday at the washington convention cee nightmare and suddenly comes true. how the right people at the right time turn a terrifying ordeal into such a survival story. >>> and potholes. they're just about everywhere and in one place the potholes are so bad they c

anne thompson has the story. in pope francis' native latin america the zika virus, carried by mosquitos, is wreaking havoc... linked to babies born with abnormally small heads. public health officials have urged women to avoid getting pregnant in a region of the world that is overwhelmingly catholic. at his in-flight press conference, the pope said contraception to prevent zika is the lesser of two evils compared to abortion. abortion he said is a crime, an absolute evil and likened it to what the mafia does. while surprising, francis' decision is not a first in church history. the belgian congo, in danger of rape to use birth control. in that case, as in the zika epidemic now, francis said it was a clear exception. that exception has some people in latin america hailing francis as a modern pope, who finds solutions. but experts insist this is not a change in church doctrine. "this is not a blanket statement to apply to all forms of contraception at at any moment, but this is a dealing with a disease that is wrea

i'm anne thompson in rome, now back to you. >>> well, a chinese exchange student is recovering after a stranger attacked her with a hatchet on an indiana street. police say 59-year-old dana ericson attacked the teenage girl hitting her in the back. he is being held without bond and has a preliminary hearing today on several charges including attempted murder and aggravated battery. the suspect reportedly has a long history of psychological issues. >> an exchange student from china, what does that say about our country? you know, to the rest of the world. >> doctors treated the student at a local hospital and released her. >>> a massive transportation construction trade group report says pennsylvania is one of five states with the most structurally deficient bridges in the country. the report found p.a. has more than 4,700 deficient bridges, among them several i-95 interchanges in philadelphia including the bridge over the cottman avenue ramp in northeast philadelphia. >>> if you recently bought a drone, you need to register it by today or you'll face legal trouble if you fly it. as n

let's go to nbc's anne thompson at vatican city with more. anne, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. as we have seen with his comments, pope francis can be blunt. even his closest observers were surprised by the exception he made yesterday to the church's opposition to artificial birth control. in pope francis' native latin america, the zika virus, carried by mosquitoes, is wreaking havoc, linked to baebls born with abnormally small heads. public health officials have urged women to avoid getting pregnant in a region of the world that is overwhelmingly catholic. at his in-flight press conference, the pope said contraception to prevent zika is the lesser of two evils, compared to abortion. abortion, he said, is a crime, an absolute evil. and likened it to what the mafia does. while surprising francis decision is not a first in church history. in the '60s, pope paul vi allowed nuns to use birth control. francis said it was a clear exception. that exception has some people in latin america hailing francis as a modern pope who find

ann thamp e thompson is at vatican city with more. >> good morning. as we've seen with his comments on donald trump's border wall, pope francis can be blunt. even his closest observers were made yesterday to the church's opposition to artificial birth control. >> reporter: in pope francis' native latin america, the zika virus carried by mosquitos, is being linked to babies born with abnormally small heads. women are urged to avoid getting pregnant in the region of the catholic. the pope said contraception to prevent zika is the lesser of two evils compared to abortion. he said abortion is a crime, absolute evil, and likened it to what the mafia does. his decision is not the first in church history. in the '60s, the pope allowed nuns in danger of rape to use birth control. in that case as in the zika epidemic now, francis said it was a clear exception. that exception has some people in latin america hailing francis as a modern pope who finds solutions. change in church doctrine. >> this is not a blanket statement to apply to all forms of contraception

this despite the catholic church's ban on contraceptives, we get more from nbc's anne thompson in rome. >> reporter: returning from mexico, pope francis surprised many by opening the door to the use of artificial contraception to prevent the sexual transmission of zika, the vi rugs rampant in his native latin america, linked to babies born with it's similar, he said, granted to the nuns in the belgian congo when they were routinely raped in the 1960s. francis continues to shock, as he did in 2013 when he said the church has been historically too obsessed with things like birth control, abortion and gay marriage. >> to say he's simply loosening up church teaching is a misreading of what he's doing. this is a pastor, and a pastor responds to people in their situation. >> reporter: it was revealed in letters this week, francis said a friendship with a woman is not a sin. the pope needs the input of women. he said a man who doesn't have a friendship with a woman is missing something. as with donald trump and immigration, pope francis is proving once again that he is not afraid of taking on

we get more from nbc's anne thompson in rome. >> returning from mexico, pope francis surprised many by opening the door to the use of artificial contraception to prevent the sexual transmission of zika. the virus rampant in his native latin america, linked to babies born with unusually small heads. it's a very rare and specific exception, similar, he says, to the one granted to nuns in the belgian congo when they were routinely raped in the 1960s. unexpected from a church that has long opposed artificial contraception. francis continues to shock as he did in 2013 when he said the church has historically been too obsessed with issues like birth control, abortion, and gay marriage. >> to say that he simply loosening up church teaching and, you know, anything goes, is quite a misreading of what he's doing. this is a pastor, and a pastor responds to people and their situations. already on st. paul the 2. froim with a female philosopher, francis said a friendship with a woman is not a sin. the pope needs the input of a woman. he says a man who doesn't have a friendship with a woman is missi

>> anne thompson outside the vatican tonight, thanks > apple isetng some backup from several fellow tech companies today, as it battles an fbi requt to help unlo an iphone used by one of the san bernardino terrorists. but as nbc's pete williams reports, apple's resistance is oving highly controversial. >> reporter: the ttle is waginging a stl active investigation. the fbi searchinthe homes two relatives s bernardino gunman farouk. the o ofooglis now backing pl requiring mpanies to enable deviced data, he says, could troubling precedent. other te giants, including microsoft, facook and itter added their pport. so did apple's co-founder, steve wozniak, on cnbc. >> i think youhould feel this is my product d what i have is what i thi i have. i n'have compaes playing tricks behind me in e backound. >> rorter: but police are pushing back. prosecuts in new york ty have 1 apple des they cann open for idce, in crim rangirom ti to mder. this s become, dies and gelemen, the wd west in technology. apple and google are their over sheriffs the are no rules. >> reporter: and mandy, whose ficeas kild sa

lester. >> anne thompson outside the vatican tonight, thanks. >>> apple is getting some backup from some fellow tech companies today tas battles an fbi request to unlock an iphone used by one of the san bernardino terrorists. as nbc's pete williams reports, apple's resistance proving >> reporter: the battle is waging during a still active investigation. the fbi searching the homes of two relatives of san bernardino gunman farouk. the ceo of google is now backing apple. requiring companies to customer devices and data, he says, could be a troubling precedent. other tech giants, including microsoft, facebook and twitter added their support. so did apple's co-founder, steve wozniak, on cnbc. >> i think you should feel this is my product and what i have is what i think i have. i don't have companies playing tricks behind me in the background. >> reporter: but police are pushing back. prosecutors in new york say they have 175 apple devices they cannot open for evidence, in crimes ranging from identity theft to murder. >> this has become, ladies and gentlemen, the wild west in technology. appl