2012: Images of the year
From Benghazi to Newtown, look back at some of the most compelling images of 2012.
From Benghazi to Newtown, look back at some of the most compelling images of 2012.
From Benghazi to Newtown, look back at some of the most compelling images of 2012.
Luxury cruise ship the Costa Concordia lays on its side near the Italian harbor of Giglio Porto after capsizing in March. More than 30 people were killed.
Meryl Streep, Best Actress winner for "The Iron Lady," and French actor Jean Dujardin, Best Actor winner for "The Artist," pose backstage at the 84th Academy Awards in Hollywood on Feb. 26, 2012.
Soldiers stand amid the wreckage of a Boeing 737 airliner that crashed in Islamabad, Pakistan, on April 21, 2012. Pakistani officials promised a full investigation into the crash of the domestic flight that killed 127 people.
Singer Adele holds her six Grammy Awards at the 54th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 12, 2012.
A man who identified himself as Mohawk Gaz sports an image of teenager Trayvon Martin on his hair during a rally to protest the boy's killing on April 1, 2012.
Malachy, a 4-year-old Pekingese, charmed the packed Madison Square Garden arena crowd and claimed the Best in Show title at the 2012 Westminster Dog Show.
The moon passes between the sun and the earth behind a windmill during an annular eclipse near Albuquerque, N.M.
Women wearing nylon masks comically known as "facekinis" stand in the water during their visit to a beach in China on July 6, 2012. The masks, which were invented by a woman about seven years ago, are used to block the sun's rays.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calls a time-out during multiple questions from an Indian journalist, as India's Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna smiles during their news conference in Washington, D.C., on June 13, 2012.
Denise Paba, who lost her 6-year-old niece Veronica Moser, cries during a memorial July 22, 2012, for victims behind the theater where a gunman opened fire on moviegoers in Aurora, Colo.
Flames from the Waldo Canyon fire burn dangerously close to homes in Colorado Springs, Colo., in June. The blaze forced at least 35,000 people from their homes and destroyed hundreds of houses.
Phillip Roser struggles to pedal his bike in downtown Live Oak, Fla., on June 26, 2012, as Tropical Storm Debby drifted slowly eastward over Florida's Gulf Coast.
Space Shuttle Endeavour is escorted by two F18 jets as it passes the Hollywood sign on the back of a 747 on its arrival in Los Angeles on Sept. 21, 2012.
American Gabrielle Douglas competes in the balance beam during the women's individual all-around gymnastics final during the London 2012 Olympic Games on Aug. 2, 2012.
Devotees try to form a human pyramid to break a clay pot containing curd during the celebrations to mark the Hindu festival of Janmashtami in Mumbai, India, on Aug.10, 2012.
Colorado theater shooting suspect James Holmes made a series of strange faces during his first court appearance on July 23, 2012. He is accused of opening fire and killing 12 people in a movie theater during the midnight screening of the new Batman movie.
Children and others take cover after a mortar bomb lands in the Syrian border village of Akcakale on Oct. 3, 2012.
A jubilant LeBron James hugs teammate Dwyane Wade after the Miami Heat became the new NBA champions on June 22, 2012.
In a stunt watched by millions, tightrope walker Nik Wallenda walks the high wire from the U.S.to Canada over the Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario, on June 15, 2012.
Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain (center L-R) , President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and others watch the overtime shootout of the Chelsea vs. Bayern Munich Champions League final during the G8 Summit at Camp David, Md., on May 19, 2012
The Olympic Stadium is illuminated during the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney pauses in prayer as he visits the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, during prayers marking Tisha B'Av in Jerusalem's Old City on July 29, 2012.
Family members mourn after a gunman opened fire at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin in August, killing six people before being shot dead by Oak Creek police.
Tractor-trailers lay in debris left by a tornado which passed through the southern area of Dallas on April 3, 2012.
President Barack Obama wipes water off his face during a rain shower at a campaign rally in Glen Allen, Va., on July 14, 2012. Rain drops on the lens created the highlights in the image.
Britain's Prince William and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, ride a traditional war canoe as they arrive in Tavanipupu, Solomon Islands, on Sept. 17, 2012.
Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik gestures as he arrives at the court room in Oslo on Aug. 24, 2012.
Members of the San Francisco Giants storm the field after winning the World Series.
Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky leaves the Centre County Courthouse in handcuffs after his conviction in his child sex abuse trial in Bellefonte, Pa., on June 22, 2012.
Schoolchildren react during a hailstorm as Britain's Queen Elizabeth visits the "Wild London" exhibition in Richmond, west London on May 15, 2012.
U.S. soldier Nicholas Dickhut, from the 5-20 infantry Regiment attached to the 82nd Airborne, points his rifle at a doorway after coming under fire by the Taliban while on patrol in Zharay district in Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan, on April 26, 2012.
A Syrian refugee boy cries as he attends the funeral of five Free Syrian Army fighters, killed by Syrian security forces near Idlib province of Syria, in Yayladagi in Hatay province near the Turkish-Syrian border on Aug. 4, 2012.
Jamphel Yeshi, a Tibetan exile, runs after setting himself on fire during a protest against the upcoming visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to India in New Delhi on March 26, 2012.
Firefighters embrace as they look out over the Sept. 11 Memorial at the former site of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2012.
Nakoula Basseley Nakoula is escorted out of his home by sheriff's deputies in Cerritos, Calif., on Sept. 15, 2012. His anti-Islam video triggered violent protests throughout the Muslim world.
Staff members reflected off the window of the room where Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney works before a campaign rally in North Canton, Ohio, on Oct. 26, 2012.
lsoActor Clint Eastwood also set up an Internet meme when he addressed an empty chair and questioned it as if it is President Barack Obama during his speech at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Aug. 30, 2012.
Afghan boys play on a destroyed car at a hilltop in Kabul on Oct. 18, 2012.
President Barack Obama jokingly mimics U.S. gymnast McKayla Maroney during the gold medal gymnastics team's visit to the White House in this now viral photo.
lsoActor Clint Eastwood also set up an Internet meme when he addressed an empty chair and questioned it as if it is President Barack Obama during his speech at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Aug. 30, 2012.
Vice President Joe Biden gestures during his vice presidential debate with GOP candidate Rep. Paul Ryan on Oct. 11, 2012.
President Barack Obama and GOP candidate Mitt Romney get testy during their second presidential debate on Oct. 16, 2012.
Staff members reflected off the window of the room where Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney works before a campaign rally in North Canton, Ohio, on Oct. 26, 2012.
Swans swim in a yard that has been flooded by storm surf kicked up by the high winds from Superstorm Sandy in Southampton, N.Y.
A parking lot full of yellow cabs is flooded in Hoboken, N.J., as the result of Superstorm Sandy on Oct. 30, 2012.
The skyline of lower Manhattan sits in darkness following a preventive power outage in New York City on Oct. 29, 2012.
President Barack Obama raises his arms in victory with Vice President Joe Biden at an election night rally in Chicago following his reelection on Nov. 7, 2012.
Former CIA Director David Petraeus shakes hands with author Paula Broadwell in this handout photo originally posted July 13, 2011. An FBI investigation led to the discovery of Petraeus' affair with Broadwell and his eventual resignation.
In what has become an iconic image, crying schoolchildren are seen being lead from Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., the morning gunman Adam Lanza massacred 20 students and six adults.
Two children watch as students are evacuated from Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14.
People grieve while awaiting word on loved ones following the massacre of 20 students and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
President Barack Obama wipes away a tear while addressing the nation following the Newtown massacre on Dec. 14.
Mourners gather inside and outside the St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church at a vigil service for victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
In a photo that's now gone viral, President Barack Obama pretends to be shot by a staffer's son dressed as Spider Man in the outer room leading to the Oval Office.
