The Year in Pictures

Displaced children outside their makeshift homes in Mugunga, Congo.

Andrew McConnell/WpN

galleries/2008/12/30/the-year-in-pictures/year-end-2_znwpkw

A young Olympic hopeful prepares to dive during a practice session at a training school in Shanghai.

Nir Elias/Reuters

galleries/2008/12/30/the-year-in-pictures/year-end-18_vosihx

Barack Obama in shoes worn down from campaigning, being interviewed after a rally at Rhode Island College in Providence.

Callie Shell/Aurora Photos

galleries/2008/12/30/the-year-in-pictures/year-end-4_nlve87

Hillary Clinton during a campaign stop in Old Forge, Pennsylvania.

Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo

galleries/2008/12/30/the-year-in-pictures/year-end-28_sdovr5

Zimbabweans flee across the Beitbridge Border Post in Musina, South Africa.

Themba Hadebe/AP Photo

galleries/2008/12/30/the-year-in-pictures/year-end-1_coxz9j

Carly Smith, 6, of Charleston, West Virginia, makes a confetti angel at a rally for Hillary Clinton.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

galleries/2008/12/30/the-year-in-pictures/year-end-7_ijykbl

Rescuers carry a wounded person out of the debris of collapsed buildings after the earthquake in Beichuan county in southwest China's Sichuan province, Tuesday, May 13, 2008.

Wang Jiaowen, ColorChinaPhoto/AP Photo

galleries/2008/12/30/the-year-in-pictures/year-end-6_j2brbb

Communist Party boss Jiang Guohua kneels before parents whose children were killed in an earthquake in China's Sichuan province.

Shiho Fukada/The New York Times/Redux

galleries/2008/12/30/the-year-in-pictures/year-end-3_nep1do

President Bush celebrates with Theodore Shiveley from Plano, Texas at the United States Air Force Academy graduation ceremony.

Charles Dharapak/AP Photo

galleries/2008/12/30/the-year-in-pictures/year-end-27_kqli5l

Three little flood victims in Oakville, Iowa.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

galleries/2008/12/30/the-year-in-pictures/year-end-12_dzysc7

Former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt celebrates her release after being held hostage for six years by the FARC.

Jacques Brinon, Pool/Reuters

galleries/2008/12/30/the-year-in-pictures/year-end-8_jp9vco

The daughters of FLDS Church leader Warren Jeffs, outside their home in New Braunfels, Texas.

Stephanie Sinclair/VII Network

galleries/2008/12/30/the-year-in-pictures/year-end-11_aqgstn

A Georgian man holds the body of a relative after a bombing in Gori.

Gleb Garanich/Reuters

galleries/2008/12/30/the-year-in-pictures/year-end-20_b05ee3

Soldiers stand guard outside the National Stadium during the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

galleries/2008/12/30/the-year-in-pictures/year-end-24_rw9au7

United States' Michael Phelps and his teammate Garret Weber-Gale, right, celebrate as their team wins the gold in the men's 4x100-meter freestyle relay final during the swimming competitions in the National Aquatics Center at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Monday, Aug. 11, 2008.

David J. Phillip/AP Photo

galleries/2008/12/30/the-year-in-pictures/year-end-19_nnehdt

Barack Obama arrives at a campaign stop in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

galleries/2008/12/30/the-year-in-pictures/year-end-15_kdxqxk

John McCain acknowledges the crowd at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

galleries/2008/12/30/the-year-in-pictures/year-end-21_jzlzhy

Sarah Palin at the Republican National Convention.

Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

galleries/2008/12/30/the-year-in-pictures/year-end-26_qddgr8

An Obama campaign rally in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Jason Reed/Reuters

galleries/2008/12/30/the-year-in-pictures/year-end-14_q5msno

Madonna performs in East Rutherford, New Jersey during the "Sticky & Sweet" tour.

Kevin Mazur/WireImage

galleries/2008/12/30/the-year-in-pictures/year-end-9_cyip7n

Lehman Brothers CEO Dick Fuld after testifying before Congress on the collapse of his company.

Susan Walsh/AP Photo

galleries/2008/12/30/the-year-in-pictures/year-end-23_xpmpe4

Sarah Palin at a campaign rally in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

galleries/2008/12/30/the-year-in-pictures/obama_gqbpje

U.S. President elect Barack Obama embraces his wife Michelle after he gave his victory speech during an election night gathering in Grant Park on November 4, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

galleries/2008/12/30/the-year-in-pictures/year-end-16_lgk23j

The fire department arrives at the Taj Mahal hotel following a terrorist attack in Mumbai, India.

Lorenzo Tugnoli, AFP/Getty Images

galleries/2008/12/30/the-year-in-pictures/year-end-25_v5jtmb

An Iraqi man throws a shoe at President Bush during a news conference in Baghdad.

AP Photo

galleries/2008/12/30/the-year-in-pictures/year-end-10_ldl0ns

Palestinians carry the body of a Palestinian killed in an Israeli missile strike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2008.

Hatem Omar/AP Photo

The Year in Pictures

From Michael Phelps’ victory lap to Sarah Palin’s star turn to Mumbai’s night of terror, the definitive photo finish for 2008.