The tourists sunbathing next to the Costa Concordia
Vacationers bask in front of the wreckage of capsized cruise liner Costa Concordia. Twenty-eight people were killed when the cruise ship capsized off the coast of Italy.
The Waldo Canyon fire
The Waldo Canyon fire burns an entire neighborhood near the foothills of Colorado Springs, Colorado. In June, Colorado endured nearly a week of 100-plus-degree days and low humidity, creating a devastating formula for volatile wildfires across the state.
Outside the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado
Storm clouds gather above a memorial for the victims in the shooting across the street from the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, in July.
Memorial Day 2012
Karen Clarkson lies over her slain son's grave at the National Cemetery on Memorial Day. Her son, Sgt. Joel Clarkson, was serving as an Army Ranger team leader in Afghanistan when he was shot and killed in March 2010.
The Virgin Mary left standing in Breezy Point, Queens
A Virgin Mary is all that remains from a home that was destroyed in Breezy Point, Queens, after Hurricane Sandy.
People who lost family members during the uprising in Egypt react to Hosni Mubarak's prison sentence
Relatives of people who died during Egypt's revolution react after a court sentenced President Hosni Mubarak to life in prison in June.
Nik Wallenda tightroping over Niagara Falls
Nik Wallenda tightroped over Niagara Falls on a 2-inch-wide wire. He's the first person to ever cross directly over the falls from the U.S. into Canada.
New York Fashion Week
Fashionistas pose for photographs in front of a homeless man outside Moynihan Station following a New York Fashion Week show in September.
A woman's suicide attempt in Greece
An employee from a government-owned company in Athens, Greece, threatens to jump from her office window after being told she would likely be laid off.
The Curiosity Control Room celebration
The control room for the Curiosity Space Rover erupts in cheers after finding out they successfully landed on Mars.
A man being pepper-sprayed directly in the face
Israeli border police officers use pepper spray as they detain an injured Palestinian protester during clashes on Land Day in March. Security forces fired rubber bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades to break up groups of Palestinian stone-throwers as annual Land Day rallies turned violent.
A Bolivian woman taking on a group of riot police
Thousands of people with crutches and in wheelchairs protested against the government of Bolivia in February. They were protesting what they believe to be an inadequate welfare system.
A couple discovering their family records survived Hurricane Sandy
Rosemary McDermott and her husband opened a safe containing a family genealogy in the Breezy Point section of Queens. They salvaged the safe from the basement of Rosemary's mother's home after Superstorm Sandy.
Greece
A police officer stands in front of a wall of flames during a protest in Athens. Violent clashes erupted as tens of thousands of demonstrators marched in opposition to a fresh round of budget cuts that the Greek government is expected to announce.
A boy in Nepal being evicted from his home
A boy cries as he holds his sister in his lap after a confrontation with squatters and police personnel in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The grieving women of South African mine workers
Women protest in front of a court in South Africa. The women were demanding the release of husbands, brothers, and sons among the 259 arrested miners expected to be charged with public violence.
The family being forced to go back to Myanmar
Mohammad Rafique, a Rohingya Muslim from Myanmar, begs a Bangladeshi coast guard official not to send his family back to Myanmar.
The Harveyville, Kansas, tornado
The damage and wreckage left after a tornado passed through Harveyville, Kansas, in February.
The West Liberty, Kentucky, tornado
A woman holds a doll she found in grandmother’s tornado-damaged house in West Liberty, Kentucky.
The father saving his daughter's life in Syria
A Syrian man carries his wounded daughter outside a hospital in the northern city of Aleppo in September. Syrian troops shelled several districts in Aleppo and clashed with rebels.
A woman grieving for her brother and cousin in Brooklyn, New York
Jennifer Saravia grieves next to a memorial outside the apartment where her brother and cousin were shot dead.
The Dutch floods in February
A man looks outside his flooded house in the Netherlands.
The 11th anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks
Vincenzo Scibetta is consoled by his father, Charles Scibetta, as his mother's name, Adrian Victoria, is read during ceremonies marking the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. This year, the new World Trade Center reclaimed the New York skyline, becoming the tallest building in New York.
Peace is temporarily restored in the Middle East
Palestinians celebrate the Israel-Hamas cease-fire in Gaza City on Nov. 21. Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire on the 21st, ending eight days of fighting.
The Space Shuttle Endeavour flying above New York City
The governor of New Jersey and the president coming together after Hurricane Sandy
The picture of the Aurora survivor
Christine Barton kisses her son Stephen Barton on July 22 at the Medical Center of Aurora, in Aurora, Colorado. Stephen Barton was wounded in the mass shooting.
Vacationers bask in front of the wreckage of capsized cruise liner Costa Concordia. Twenty-eight people were killed when the cruise ship capsized off the coast of Italy.
The Waldo Canyon fire
The Waldo Canyon fire burns an entire neighborhood near the foothills of Colorado Springs, Colorado. In June, Colorado endured nearly a week of 100-plus-degree days and low humidity, creating a devastating formula for volatile wildfires across the state.
Outside the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado
Storm clouds gather above a memorial for the victims in the shooting across the street from the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, in July.
Memorial Day 2012
Karen Clarkson lies over her slain son's grave at the National Cemetery on Memorial Day. Her son, Sgt. Joel Clarkson, was serving as an Army Ranger team leader in Afghanistan when he was shot and killed in March 2010.
The Virgin Mary left standing in Breezy Point, Queens
A Virgin Mary is all that remains from a home that was destroyed in Breezy Point, Queens, after Hurricane Sandy.
People who lost family members during the uprising in Egypt react to Hosni Mubarak's prison sentence
Relatives of people who died during Egypt's revolution react after a court sentenced President Hosni Mubarak to life in prison in June.
Nik Wallenda tightroping over Niagara Falls
Nik Wallenda tightroped over Niagara Falls on a 2-inch-wide wire. He's the first person to ever cross directly over the falls from the U.S. into Canada.
New York Fashion Week
Fashionistas pose for photographs in front of a homeless man outside Moynihan Station following a New York Fashion Week show in September.
A woman's suicide attempt in Greece
An employee from a government-owned company in Athens, Greece, threatens to jump from her office window after being told she would likely be laid off.
The Curiosity Control Room celebration
The control room for the Curiosity Space Rover erupts in cheers after finding out they successfully landed on Mars.
A man being pepper-sprayed directly in the face
Israeli border police officers use pepper spray as they detain an injured Palestinian protester during clashes on Land Day in March. Security forces fired rubber bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades to break up groups of Palestinian stone-throwers as annual Land Day rallies turned violent.
A Bolivian woman taking on a group of riot police
Thousands of people with crutches and in wheelchairs protested against the government of Bolivia in February. They were protesting what they believe to be an inadequate welfare system.
A couple discovering their family records survived Hurricane Sandy
Rosemary McDermott and her husband opened a safe containing a family genealogy in the Breezy Point section of Queens. They salvaged the safe from the basement of Rosemary's mother's home after Superstorm Sandy.
Greece
A police officer stands in front of a wall of flames during a protest in Athens. Violent clashes erupted as tens of thousands of demonstrators marched in opposition to a fresh round of budget cuts that the Greek government is expected to announce.
A boy in Nepal being evicted from his home
A boy cries as he holds his sister in his lap after a confrontation with squatters and police personnel in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The grieving women of South African mine workers
Women protest in front of a court in South Africa. The women were demanding the release of husbands, brothers, and sons among the 259 arrested miners expected to be charged with public violence.
The family being forced to go back to Myanmar
Mohammad Rafique, a Rohingya Muslim from Myanmar, begs a Bangladeshi coast guard official not to send his family back to Myanmar.
The Harveyville, Kansas, tornado
The damage and wreckage left after a tornado passed through Harveyville, Kansas, in February.
The West Liberty, Kentucky, tornado
A woman holds a doll she found in grandmother’s tornado-damaged house in West Liberty, Kentucky.
The father saving his daughter's life in Syria
A Syrian man carries his wounded daughter outside a hospital in the northern city of Aleppo in September. Syrian troops shelled several districts in Aleppo and clashed with rebels.
A woman grieving for her brother and cousin in Brooklyn, New York
Jennifer Saravia grieves next to a memorial outside the apartment where her brother and cousin were shot dead.
The Dutch floods in February
A man looks outside his flooded house in the Netherlands.
The 11th anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks
Vincenzo Scibetta is consoled by his father, Charles Scibetta, as his mother's name, Adrian Victoria, is read during ceremonies marking the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. This year, the new World Trade Center reclaimed the New York skyline, becoming the tallest building in New York.
Peace is temporarily restored in the Middle East
Palestinians celebrate the Israel-Hamas cease-fire in Gaza City on Nov. 21. Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire on the 21st, ending eight days of fighting.
The Space Shuttle Endeavour flying above New York City
The governor of New Jersey and the president coming together after Hurricane Sandy
The picture of the Aurora survivor
Christine Barton kisses her son Stephen Barton on July 22 at the Medical Center of Aurora, in Aurora, Colorado. Stephen Barton was wounded in the mass shooting.