45 Most Powerful Images of 2012
The 45 Most Powerful Images Of 2012
There are some incredibly inspiring pictures in here, but warning: Some of these may break your heart.posted
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. The Paralympics
Nicholas Taylor of the United States and teammate David Wagner celebrate after the Quad Doubles Wheelchair Tennis Gold Medal match.
6. Trayvon Martin protests in Georgia
College student Jajuan Kelley covers his mouth with a Skittles wrapper as he stands in a crowd of thousands rallying at the Georgia State Capitol in memory of slain Florida teenager Trayvon Martin. Protests were held nationwide in reaction to the death of Trayvon Martin, the Florida teenager whose shooting by a neighborhood watch captain has led to questions of the “stand your ground” law in Florida and other states.
7. 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.
8. Anti-gay hate crimes in Ukraine
Unidentified people beat Svyatoslav Sheremet, head of Gay-Forum of Ukraine, in May. Sheremet was attacked after meeting with members of the media to inform them that a scheduled gay parade was canceled due to threats of violence from neo-Nazis and other hate groups. The attackers ran off when they realized members of the media were documenting the attack.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. Curiosity Control Room celebrates
The control room for the Curiosity Space Rover erupts in cheers after finding out they successfully landed on Mars.
15. 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.
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. The protester in Bangladesh about to be smashed with a baton
A police officer uses his baton against an activist during a protest against the government in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Demonstrators demanded that the government withdraw a power-tariff hike marched toward the energy ministry.
19. A Syrian refugee vs. Mickey Mouse
A Syrian refugee boy points a plastic toy pistol at a man in a Mickey Mouse costume on the first day of Eid al-Adha at a park in Beirut.
20. 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.
21. Seaside Heights, New Jersey
The Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, after Hurricane Sandy. The Casino Pier coaster will be removed from the water.
22. 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.
23. A man and his dog
A man embraces his dog as she receives saline from a drip from a veterinarian hospital financed by Sao Paulo’s municipal government. The hospital offers free health care for the pets of low-income residents in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
24. 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.
25. Kicking riot police in Greece
A man in Greece kicks riot police back.
26. 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.
27. The Harveyville, Kansas, tornado
The damage and wreckage left after a tornado passed through Harveyville, Kansas, in February.
28. The man who set himself on fire for Tibet
A Tibetan exile runs through a street during a protest against the upcoming visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao.
29. The West Liberty, Kentucky, tornado
A woman holds a doll she found in grandmother’s tornado-damaged house in West Liberty, Kentucky.
30. 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.
31. 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.
32. Manhattan without lights
Before and after shots of Manhattan after Hurricane Sandy. Nearly 200,000 people lost power in downtown Manhattan for about a week.
33. A little Palestinian girl vs. an Israeli soldier
A Palestinian girl tries to punch an Israeli soldier during a protest against the expansion of the nearby Jewish settlement of Halamish.
34. The Dutch floods in February
A man looks outside his flooded house in the Netherlands.
35. The student riots in Chile
Protesters (and dogs) shield themselves from a police water canon after a student protest ended in clashes with authorities in Santiago, Chile.
36. Two firefighters consoling each other after finding out two of their comrades were killed
Firefighters greet each other in the aftermath of a fire in a warehouse in Philadelphia. Two firefighters were killed in the blaze.
37. 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.
38. Felix Baumgartner’s 24-mile free-fall from space
39. The president and First Lady looking down onto the 9/11 memorial
U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama look down at the 9/11 Memorial while touring the One World Trade Center building in New York in June.
40. The Space Shuttle Enterprise flying above New York City
41. The governor of New Jersey and the president coming together after Hurricane Sandy
President Barack Obama hugs North Point Marina owner Donna Vanzant as he tours damage done by Hurricane Sandy with New Jersey Governor Cristie.
42. Two women from Maryland getting engaged on election night
Keesha Patterson of Ft. Washington, Maryland, proposed to her girlfriend, Rowan Ha, during the election night victory rally in Chicago. Maryland, along with three other states, voted in favor of gay marriage in November.
43. An 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.
44. The wedding held during a monsoon in Manila
Ramoncito Campo kisses his wife Hernelie Ruazol Campo on a flooded street during a southwest monsoon that battered Manila, Philippines, in August. The newlywed couple pushed through with their scheduled wedding despite severe flooding that inundated wide areas of the capital and nine nearby provinces.
45. The sailor and and his wife who overcame pretty high odds to be together
