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  • Halloween brings spooky to the streets

    Ben Hider / Getty Images Contributor

    View of attendees dancing as Michael Jackson's Thriller zombies at the 39th Annual New York Village Halloween parade on October 31, 2011 in New York City.

    Ben Hider / Getty Images Contributor

    View of an attendee in costume at the 39th Annual New York Village Halloween parade on October 31, 2011 in New York City.

    Mario Tama / Getty Images

    Costumed revelers including Kaylyn Young (C) dance on at the "HarlemWeen" Halloween celebration in historic Harlem on October 31, 2011 in New York City.

    Nellie Doneva / AP

    Maria Pilar, left, gives out candy to children from Day Nursery of Abilene at the Abilene-Taylor County Public Health District on Monday, Oct. 31, 2011, in Abilene, Texas.

    Jens Meyer / AP

    An artist, right, and a visitor pose during a Halloween celebration in the leisure park 'BELANTIS', the largest theme park in eastern Germany, in Leipzig, Germany, on Monday, Oct. 31, 2011. The theme park stages a Halloween party with creepy surprises for the visitors.

    Jens Meyer / AP

    An artist dressed as a moor man walks between crosses during a Halloween celebration in the leisure park 'BELANTIS', the largest theme park in eastern Germany, in Leipzig, Germany, on Monday, Oct. 31, 2011. The theme park stages a Halloween party with creepy surprises for the visitors.

    Have a safe and fun Halloween everyone!

    Related stories:

     

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  • Power outages across Northeast could last days

    Many communities are postponing Halloween because of the lack of street lights. Full story.

    Steven Senne / AP

    Tracy Ward, of Wilbraham, Mass., prepares dinner by the light of lanterns for her family during a blackout in their Wilbraham home Monday, Oct. 31. Snow and high winds from a rare late October storm brought down trees and tree limbs across the state, damaging power lines and leaving many without electricity. The Ward family lost power Saturday afternoon.

    Rich Schultz / AP

    Motorists make their way along Route 10 in Roxbury, N.J. Monday Oct. 31. An unusual October snow storm this past Saturday dumped up to 15 inches of snow in some areas of N.J. causing power outages across the state.

    Rich Schultz / AP

    Traffic lights are seen without power in Roxbury, N.J. due to power outages Monday Oct. 31, 2011.

    More than 2 million Americans are still without power. There are towns without gasoline or open food stores, and Halloween has been cancelled in a number of communities because streets are dark and trees and wires are down. NBC's Ron Allen reports.

  • Tony La Russa retires after dramatic World Series win

    Thursday's game six of the World Series was one of the most exciting baseball games I've ever watched. But you have to wonder how a manager handles the stress of something like that. Watching Tony La Russa, each fielding error seemed like a dagger to the heart.

    Full story.

    Christian Gooden / St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP

    St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, center, speaks at a news conference at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Monday, Oct. 31, flanked by team owner Bill DeWitt Jr., left, and general manager John Mozeliak. La Russa retired as manager of the Cardinals, three days after winning a dramatic, seven-game World Series against the Texas Rangers. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Chris Gooden) EDWARDSVILLE INTELLIGENCER OUT. THE ALTON TELEGRAPH OUT

    Otto Greule Jr. / Getty Images

    Manager Tony LaRussa of the Oakland Athletics looks on during an MLB game circa 1986 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California.

     

     

  • Charlie Riedel / AP

    Teagan Keil, 12, right, is comforted by Radene Rupert after Keil learned that the body of his father, Travis Keil, had been recovered, Oct. 31, 2011, at the Bartlett Grain Co. in Atchison, Kan. Six people were killed in an explosion at the elevator Saturday night.

    Three more victims of Kansas grain elevator blast are found

    Charlie Riedel’s picture of Teagan Keil being comforted is one of the most sensitive grieving pictures I’ve seen. Riedel not only informs the viewer with the grain elevator and the barricades, but he gives us an understated, emotional scene that makes us care. It shows Teagan’s pain without intruding into a tender moment. I can’t look away.

    Associated Press reports

    ATCHISON, Kansas -- The final three bodies were recovered Monday from the burnt wreckage of a Kansas grain elevator where a weekend explosion killed six people and injured two others, a company official said.

    Bob Knief, a Bartlett Grain Company senior vice president, declined to discuss the identities of the three victims found Monday, but relatives identified two of them as Curtis Field, 21, and state grain inspector Travis Keil.

    Over the past four decades, there have more than 600 explosions at grain elevators around the U.S., killing more than 250 people and injuring more than 1,000, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Read more…

  • Giving birth to the 7 billion babies

    Mohammed Zaatari / AP

    Nurses hold newborn babies in Sidon, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 31, 2011. As of Oct. 31, according to the U.N. Population Fund, there will be 7 billion people sharing Earth's land and resources.

    Pawan Kumar / Reuters

    Vinita Yadav, a 23-year-old Indian, holds her newborn baby girl Nargis, who was born at 7:20am, inside a community health center in Mall, India on Oct. 31, 2011. The world's population will reach seven billion on 31 October 2011, according to projections by the United Nations, which says this global milestone presents both an opportunity and a challenge for the planet. While more people are living longer and healthier lives, says the U.N., gaps between rich and poor are widening and more people than ever are vulnerable to food insecurity and water shortages.

    What I love about these images is that while the locations, cultures, traditions and environments vary tremendously from country to country, there is the common thread of birth and motherhood at the heart of them.

    Babies born today were welcomed into the world under the camera lens of photographers, all ready to capture the symbolic seven billionth baby. While experts are unable to precisely say that the population has officially hit 7 billion people, the United Nations designated the date according to estimates and projections done by the the U.N. Population Fund.

    For more information: A child is born and world population hits 7 billion.

    See more PhotoBlog posts related to the seven billion population milestone:

    Edgard Garrido / Reuters

    A pediatrician measures the head of Linda Abigail, the third child of Lourdes Suyapa Rodriguez, 35, after she was born in the childbirth unit of the Escuela hospital in Tegucigalpa, Honduras on Oct. 31, 2011.

    Albert Gonzalez Farran / AFP - Getty Images

    Buthaina, a young Sudanese mother lies in bed with her newborn baby at El-Fasher Women's Hospital in Sudan's northern Darfur region on Oct. 31, 2011. As Sudan's population reaches 33 million persons, with approximately six million living in Darfur's three states.

    Denis Sinyakov / Reuters

    Medics hold an infant boy shortly after Alla Baturina gave birth to him, at a perinatal center of Moscow City Hospital Number 8 in Moscow on Oct. 31, 2011.

    M.A.Pushpa Kumara / EPA

    The symbolic seven billionth member of the world population from Sri Lanka, Muthumali receives a cuddle from her 23-year-old mother W.G. Dhanushika Dilani at the Castle Street Maternity Hospital in Colombo on Oct. 31, 2011. A special event was organized at the Castle Street Maternity Hospital to receive what is believed to be the seven billionth member of the world population.

    Nathalie Bardou / AP

    Newborn Pakistani babies, receive phototherapy treatment against neonatal jaundice, at the nursery room of a hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, Oct. 31, 2011. Countries around the world marked the world's population reaching 7 billion Monday with lavish ceremonies for newborn infants symbolizing the milestone and warnings that there may be too many humans for the planet's resources.

     

  • Demonstrator occupies Wall Street as ‘The Pink Slip’ for Halloween

    Emmanuel Dunand / AFP - Getty Images

    A costumed Occupy Wall Street protester dressed as "The Pink Slip" holds a sign at Zuccotti Park in New York City on Oct. 31, 2011.

    I’m a little disappointed with the lack of good Halloween costumes among the Occupy Wall Street protesters in Zuccotti Park. “The Pink Slip” is good, but the other folks who simply put on a rubber mask aren’t really bringing it.

    Emmanuel Dunand / AFP - Getty Images

    A costumed for Halloween Occupy Wall Street supporter trick-or-treats at Zuccotti Park.

    See more Occupy Wall Street PhotoBlog posts

  • Hajj, the largest annual gathering of people in the world, is set to begin in Mecca

    Hassan Ammar / AP

    Tens of thousands of Muslim pilgrims move around the Kaaba, seen at center right, inside the Grand Mosque, during the annual Hajj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 31, 2011. The annual Islamic pilgrimage draws 2.5 million visitors each year, making it the largest yearly gathering of people in the world. The Hajj will officially begin on Nov. 5.

    The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia that all able-bodied Muslims, who can afford it, must do at least once in their lifetime. It is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and is the largest pilgrimage in the world.

    The Hajj is an ancient ritual, but the Saudi government has had to use modern crowd-control techniques to prevent such things as trampling and architectural collapses that have caused hundreds of deaths during past pilgrimages.

    Ammar Awad / Reuters

    Pilgrims circle the Kaaba at the Al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca.

    See more religious observances from around the world in PhotoBlog

  • A royal wedding redo of the balcony kiss

    Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images

    Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, kiss on the balcony at Buckingham Palace on April 29, 2011 in London, England.

    TODAY

    The cast of TODAY recreate the balcony kiss from the Royal Wedding on Monday.

    Just when you thought everyone had moved past the royal wedding, Halloween arrives to remind us of the special occasion. The cast of TODAY dressed up as members of the British royal family and recreated the famous balcony kiss. How many other Prince Williams and Kate Middletons were out there this Halloween?

    For more images, see our slideshows:

    Stephen Lovekin / Getty Images

    TODAY hosts Matt Lauer and Ann Curry dressed as Prince William and Catherine Middleton on the set of NBC's TODAY 2011 Halloween Celebration at Rockefeller Plaza on Oct. 31, 2011 in New York City.

    Matt Dunham / AP

    Kate and William offer a wave from the balcony to the masses gathered at Buckingham Palace.

  • Aftermath of the October snowstorm

    Seth Wenig / AP

    A women steps over downed tree limbs while walking her dog in Central Park in New York, Monday, Oct. 31, 2011. The group that manages Central Park estimates that the New York City park may lose 1,000 trees due to the unprecedented weekend snowstorm.

    It was surreal to see the blizzard conditions that took over New York City and much of the East Coast on Saturday, as well as the resulting damage from the heavy snow on trees that had not yet lost their leaves. New York City is estimating it will lose 1,000 trees. Over 1 million customers throughout the Northeast are still without power, as crews continue to struggle to get them back on the grid. For thousands of children in school, the storm brought them their first snow day of the season.

    For more information: Power still out for millions after 'historic storm.'

    Seth Wenig / AP

    Trees that were damaged by a snowstorm, then trimmed, stand bare of branches at the edge of Central Park in New York, Monday, Oct. 31, 2011. The group that manages Central Park estimates that the New York City park may lose 1,000 trees due to the unprecedented weekend snowstorm.

    Jessica Hill / AP

    A worker from Connecticut Light & Power inspects a downed power line on Route 5 in South Windsor, Conn., Monday, Oct. 31, 2011. The unseasonably early nor'easter had utility companies struggling to restore electricity to more than 3 million homes and businesses.

    Jessica Hill / AP

    Workers from the Connecticut Department of Transportation remove a traffic signal that had fall from a downed line on Route 5 in South Windsor, Conn., Monday, Oct. 31, 2011. The unseasonably early nor'easter had utility companies struggling to restore electricity to more than 3 million homes and businesses.

     

  • Romeo Ranoco / Reuters

    A man stands on a ladder as he cleans his son's tomb located in an 'Apartment Style' public cemetery in Navotas city, north of Manila, Philippines, on October 31. Over 80 percent of the Philippines' 94.9 million people are Catholics and observe All-Saints' Day on November 1 with visits to the cemetery to offer prayers for the dead. 'Apartment-style' tombs are those that are laid one on top of another and are a cheaper alternative for many cash-strapped Filipinos.

    Filipinos clean tombs in advance of All Saints' Day

  • AFP - Getty Images

    14,345 people attempt to set a new Guinness World Record as they gather for a bath at a hot spring in southwest China's Chongqing municipality on October 30. The former world record was 10,121 people having a hot spring bath at the same time in China's Hubei province.

    World record bathing attempt at a Chongqing hot spring

    See more Guinness World Record photos on PhotoBlog and in our slideshow.

  • Introducing Danica May Camacho, the world's first 7-billionth baby

    Erik De Castro / AFP - Getty Images

    A newly born baby girl named Danica May Camacho, the Philippines' symbolic seven billionth baby, is weighed in the Fabella Maternity hospital in Manila on October 31. The world's population will reach seven billion on October 31, according to projections by the United Nations, which says this global milestone presents both an opportunity and a challenge for the planet.

    After all of the build-up, it seems the U.N. has decided that there should be more than one 7-billionth baby. Let the circus begin...

    msnbc.com staff and news services report:

    A string of festivities are being held worldwide, with a series of symbolic 7-billionth babies being born.

    The celebrations began in the Philippines, where baby Danica May Camacho was greeted with cheers and an explosion of photographers' flashbulbs at Manila's Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital.

    The Guardian newspaper reported that Danica, whose name means morning star, had been chosen by the U.N. to be one of a number of symbolic 7 billionth babies. It is not known who the actual baby is.

    Erik De Castro / Reuters

    Midwives hold Danica May Camacho up for the cameras.

    Danica arrived two minutes before midnight Sunday, but doctors decided that was close enough to count for a Monday birthday. 

    The baby received a shower of gifts, from a chocolate cake marked "7B Philippines" to a gift certificate for shoes.

    "She looks so lovely," the mother, Camille Galura, whispered as she cradled the 5.5-pound baby, who was born about a month premature. Read the full story.

    Ted Aljibe / AFP - Getty Images

    Danica May Camacho is coddled by her mother Camille as United Nations resident coordinator Jacqui Badcock, left, hands over a gift and Philippine Health Secretary Enrique Ona, right, looks on, during a welcoming ceremony after she was born at a government-run maternity hospital in Manila. Weighing 2.5 kilos, the baby was delivered shortly before midnight October 30 amid an explosion of flash bulbs from a media contingent that had waited for hours at the delivery room.

    See more PhotoBlog posts related to the seven billion population milestone:

  • Pan American Games end with colorful closing ceremony

    Roberto Escobar / EPA

    Fireworks at the Omnilife stadium during the closing ceremony of the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, on October 30.

    Raul Arboleda / AFP - Getty Images

    Actors perform during the closing ceremony.

    Eduardo Verdugo / AP

    Athletes take photos of singer Ricky Martin as he performs during the closing ceremony.

    Miguel Sierra / EPA

    Exterior view of the Omnilife stadium during the closing ceremony.

     

    See more Pan American Games PhotoBlog posts:

  • St. Louis welcomes the Cardinals home after their World Series win

    Jeff Roberson / AP

    St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols waves to fans during a victory parade on Oct. 30, 2011 in St. Louis.

    AP reports

    ST. LOUIS - A red sea of fans jammed downtown St. Louis to honor the World Series champion Cardinals and send a clear message to Albert Pujols: Please stay

    Pujols drew a long standing ovation at the stadium. When asked if he'd like to be back for another celebration next season, he smiled sheepishly and said, "Hey, why not?"

    Jerry Naunheim / AP

    Fans cheer outside Busch Stadium during a victory parade in celebration of the Cardinals' 11th World Series victory.

    Jeff Roberson / AP

    Cardinals manager Tony La Russa gives a thumbs-up as he participates in a victory parade for the baseball World Series champions.

    Related slideshow: 2011 World Series

  • Laura J. Gardner / The Journal-Gazette via AP

    Smoke billows from Momper Insulation in Fort Wayne, Ind., Oct. 30, 2011. Police evacuated area residents about 1 p.m. A passing motorist called in the fire on the city's west side at about 11:30 a.m., and three hours later the blaze remained out of control, Fire Chief Pete Kelly said. Firefighters were expected to remain on the scene Sunday evening and possibly overnight, he said.

    Large fire breaks out at insulation company in Fort Wayne, Ind.

    WANE.com reports

    FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- Fire officials said they are concerned about chemical exposure from the business in the area and are advising motorists to avoid it.

    “The only suggestions I can give to people out there is if there is concern, stay in your house and shut the windows. I don’t want to alarm anyone, but there’s no point in going outside in this plume until we have some more information from our hazardous material team that’s in action right now,” said Fire Chief Pete Kelly. Read more…

  • Tokyo's Sky Tree nearing completion

    With the rise of broadband internet and cable television, I wonder why Japanese television companies feel the need for this tower for digital TV broadcasting.

    The Sky Tree broadcast tower is touted as the world's tallest at 634 meters. (The Burj Khalifa, at 829 meters, is the world's tallest building.)

    Tomoyuki Kaya / EPA

    A guide gestures inside the observatory of the Tokyo Sky Tree, Japan, Oct. 30. Tokyo Sky Tree, a telecommunication tower under construction, reaches the 634-meter tidemark. The new Tokyo landmark, the world's tallest self-standing structure with two observatories and commercial facilities, is scheduled to begin operating in spring of 2012. It is expected to bolster television and radio transmissions in the capital region.


    Tomoyuki Kaya / EPA

    The Tokyo Sky Tree is seen in Tokyo, Japan, Oct. 30. Tokyo Sky Tree, a telecommunication tower under construction, reaches the 634-meter tidemark. The new Tokyo landmark, the world's tallest self-standing structure with two observatories and commercial facilities, is scheduled to begin operating in spring of 2012. It is expected to bolster television and radio transmissions in the capital region. EPA/TOMOYUKI KAYA

    Issei Kato / Reuters

    The Tokyo Sky Tree is seen in downtown Tokyo October 30.

     

  • Spanish shepherds lead 5,000 sheep through Madrid

    I can't help but think about the contrast between this parade of sheep in Madrid, and the end of the cattle drive in Gary, South Dakota that we PhotoBlogged yesterday.

    AP reports:

    MADRID — Spanish shepherds led flocks of sheep through the streets of downtown Madrid on Sunday in defense of ancient grazing, migration and droving rights threatened by urban sprawl and man-made frontiers.

    Jesus Garzon, president of a shepherds' council established in 1273, said some 5,000 sheep and 60 cattle crossed the city to exercise the right to droving routes that existed before Madrid grew from a rural hamlet to the great capital it is today.

    Susana Vera / Reuters

    A shepherd walks past Madrid's landmark Puerta de Alcala monument as hundreds of sheep are herded through the city Oct. 30. Shepherds parade the sheep through the city every year in order to exercise their right to use traditional routes to migrate their livestock from northern Spain to winter grazing pasture land in southern Spain.

     


    Susana Vera / Reuters

    A female shepherd carries a lamb as hundreds of sheep are herded through the center of Madrid Oct. 30.

    Pablo Blazquez Dominguez / Getty Images Contributor

    People watch sheep pass through the streets during an annual parade on Oct. 30, in Madrid, Spain.

  • In Kabul, a bowling center offers respite from war

    AP reports:

    KABUL, Afghanistan — In an Afghan capital scarred by years of war, a young Afghan woman has bet $1 million that her countrymen could use a little fun.

    Located just down the street from Kabul's glitziest mall, is The Strikers, the country's first bowling alley and owner Meena Rahmani's gamble on the capital's newest entertainment venue.

    Aside from the cultural significance of such a center in a country largely lacking entertainment choices, building the bowling alley was a massive undertaking. All the equipment is imported, the engineers came from China and the alley is powered by several industrial-sized generators. The entrance to the alley sits behind blast-resistant steel doors guarded by burly men toting AK-47 assault rifles.

    Muhammed Muheisen / AP

    Afghan men play at the Strikers, the country's first bowling center, in Kabul, Afghanistan. In an Afghan capital scarred by years of war, a young Afghan woman has bet $1 million that the country could use a chance to have a bit of fun by bowling. Located just down the street from Kabul's glitziest mall, Meena Rahmani opened Afghanistan's first bowling alley, offering a place where Afghan men, women and families can gather, relax, bowl a few games and not be burdened by the social, religious and cultural restrictions that govern daily life in the impoverished country.



    Muhammed Muheisen / AP

    Meena Rahmani, 26, owner of The Strikers, the country's first bowling center, holds a bowling ball in Kabul, Afghanistan.

  • Voters in Kyrgyzstan cast presidential ballots

    Most Americans don't even know where Kyrgyzstan is, let alone its outsize role in geopolitics.

    AP reports:

    BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Voters in the turbulent Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan cast their ballots Sunday in a presidential election that could set a democratic example for authoritarian neighbors.

    While international observers have hailed the wide range of candidates on offer and recent improvements to electoral legislation, there are concerns that the vote could ignite inter regional tensions.

    Kyrgyzstan, an impoverished nation of around 5 million people on China's western fringes, is home to both U.S. and Russian military air bases, making its fortunes the subject of lively international interest.

     

    Related: New York Times piece on the proposed "Eurasian Union," Kyrgyzstan Votes for a President, Feeling the Pull of Russia

    Shamil Zhumatov / Reuters

    Voters study their ballots in a school gymnasium turned into a local polling station in the village of Gulbakhor outside the southern city of Osh, Oct. 30. Kyrgyzstan aims to complete bold reforms to create Central Asia's first parliamentary democracy when it votes on Sunday to elect a new president capable of bridging the divisions that threaten stability in the strategic ex-Soviet state.

     


    Vyacheslav Oseledko / AFP - Getty Images

    An elderly woman heads toward a polling station (not pictured) in the village of Kyzyl Birlik, some 20 km outside the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, on Oct. 30.

    Igor Kovalenko / EPA

    A cat resting next to a portable ballot box yawns during early Kyrgyzstan presidential voting at a house in the village of Strelnikovo some 25 km from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Oct. 29.

    Shamil Zhumatov / Reuters

    A man wearing Kyrgyz national hat sits next to portraits of presidential candidates at a local polling station in the southern city of Osh, Oct. 29.

    Shamil Zhumatov / Reuters

    Members of a local electoral commission sing the national anthem after closing a poll at a polling station in the southern city of Osh, Oct. 30.

    Shamil Zhumatov / Reuters

    Members of a local electoral commission empty a ballot box after closing a poll at a polling station in the southern city of Osh, Oct. 30.

     

     

     

     

  • Uganda atrocity survivor: 'This is my picture'

    Photographers and journalists are often criticized for flying in to a distant, foreign environment and telling a story in a way that makes people appear exotic, rather than empathizing with them. 'My name is Filda Adoch', a documentary project by the Italian photographer Martina Bacigalupo, is an example of a powerful, compassionate alternative.

    President Barack Obama recently ordered up to 100 U.S. military trainers into central Africa to help combat the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a band of rebels behind a campaign of murder, rape and kidnapping that has plagued northern Uganda for 20 years. Ugandan government troops have also been accused of committing human rights abuses during the conflict.

    Filda Adoch is one of those most affected by the violence from both sides. The 53 year old Ugandan has suffered the loss of a son, two husbands, and her own leg which was amputated after she stepped on a landmine. Through it all, she has displayed extraordinary spirit and endurance, continuing to take care of her five children, two godsons, ten grandchildren, her mother and a brother. 

    Martina Bacigalupo / Agence VU via Aurora Photos

    "Here I am carrying the firewood home but it looks as if the firewood on my head is something like wings that make me fly in the sky."
    Filda Adoch pictured in Along Village, Gulu District, Uganda, in May 2010.

    Martina Bacigalupo spoke with msnbc.com at the Visa pour l'image photojournalism festival in Perpignan, France, where her work was exhibited in September. "The project is an encounter between me and Filda," she explained, "and between our two worlds. I spent three weeks with Filda, staying in her village. The simple idea I had was to collaborate with her."

    "When you first arrive in a place everything is new and amazing. People are extraordinary. You tend to project yourself on to things -- your ideas, your culture -- and exaggerate things. It becomes about you, it's not about the people who are your subjects."

    "I tried to get beyond that. I wanted to say 'I exist, with my background, my culture, my ideas, my experience of this place. Let me put this together in my photography. Let me put it in front of you - Filda - give it to you, and then you give something back to me.’"

    "Each time I took pictures, the following day I would take them to Filda. She was involved in the editing -- sometimes she would look at a picture and say 'no, this is not me'. The images are my choice, but I listened to her. There's a picture with the cow and the chicken, for example. She really wanted this picture to be included.

    Martina Bacigalupo / Agence VU via Aurora Photos

    "This is a very true picture because everybody is in it, even the chicken. It's very clear."
    Filda Adoch with some of her family in Along Village, Gulu District, Uganda, in January 2011.

    As we watched people crowd around the exhibit in France, peering intently at Adoch's words beneath the pictures, I asked Bacigalupo how she thought Adoch would react to the scene. "She will laugh when she sees pictures of this! She'll see a bunch of white people looking at her life."

    "But I remember our first meeting. 'Go and tell my story,' she said to me. If people looking at the pictures feel a connection with Filda, that is success to me."

    And how did the photographer herself feel to see the work exhibited?

    "It was only when I looked at the pictures on the wall myself that I realized there are not many pictures where you notice that Filda's leg is missing. She doesn't cry about her lost leg, she doesn't show it. I was conscious that she was so proud of her body, her strength. She feels strong, she feels beautiful, and it is her beauty that comes across."

    See more images in the slideshow: One woman's story of surviving 20 years of conflict in Uganda.

    Photographer Martina Bacigalupo is based in Burundi, in the Great Lakes region of Africa. She produced the project with a grant she received as the winner of the Canon Female Photojournalist Award.

  • Protesters, police clash in Denver

    AP reports:

    DENVER — The simmering tension near the Colorado Capitol escalated dramatically Saturday with more than a dozen arrests and authorities firing rounds of pellets filled with pepper spray at supporters of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

    The clash came as Occupy Wall Street protesters and state officials in Tennessee squared off for a third consecutive night, even though a local judge has refused to jail demonstrators who have been arrested.

    In Denver, officers in riot gear moved late in the day into a park where protesters were attempting to establish an encampment, hauling off demonstrators just hours after a standoff at the Capitol steps degenerated into a fight that ended in a cloud of Mace and pepper spray.

    John Moore / Getty Images

    Policemen in riot gear scuffle with protesters at the "Occupy Denver" camp on October 29 in Denver, Colorado. Following a march by protesters, police tried to tear down some newly-erected tents at the encampment and and a melee ensued.



    John Moore / Getty Images

    A protester's face is cleaned after he was pepper-sprayed by police at the "Occupy Denver" camp on October 29 in Denver, Colorado.

    John Moore / Getty Images

    A policeman in riot gear arrests a protester at the "Occupy Denver" camp on October 29, 2011 in Denver, Colorado.

    John Moore / Getty Images

    Riot police face off with demonstrators at the "Occupy Denver" camp on October 29 in Denver, Colorado.

     

  • Qantas Airways grounds global fleet due to labor dispute

    AP reports:

    SYDNEY — Tens of thousands of stranded Qantas Airways passengers are pinning their hopes on a government-appointed tribunal on Sunday ordering an end to the industrial action that grounded the Australian national carrier's entire fleet.

    Qantas said Sunday that it had canceled 447 flights affecting more than 68,000 passengers — including 17 world leaders.

    When the grounding was announced Saturday, 36 international and 28 domestic Australian flights were in the air, said a Qantas spokeswoman, who declined to be named citing company policy. At least one taxiing flight stopped on the runway, a flier said. Qantas said 108 airplanes were grounded.

    Danny Moloshok / Reuters

    Qantas Airways personnel talk with passengers at Los Angeles International Airport October 29. Tens of thousands of stranded Qantas Airways passengers are pinning their hopes on a government-appointed tribunal on Sunday ordering an end to the industrial action that grounded the Australian national carrier's entire fleet.


    David Crosling / EPA

    The Qantas section of Tullamarine airport remains almost deserted, Melbourne, Australia, on October 230. All Qantas aircraft have been grounded due to an industrial depute.

    David Crosling / EPA

    Qantas aircraft remain parked in their bays at Melbourne's Tullamarine airport, Australia, on Oct. 30. All Qantas aircraft have been grounded due to an industrial depute.

  • Where's the beef? At the Elk Burger Challenge

    It's hard for me to understand the appeal of competitive eating. See the video below to see how this one turned out.

    Juan Carlo / Ventura County Star via AP

    Jim Geiger and his wife June Geiger bring the five pounds of beef on a bun served with 10 slices of cheese plus lettuce, pickle, onion, tomato, one pound of fries and, for dessert, two cups of banana pudding for two participants on Friday, Oct. 28. The Elk Burger Challenge offered fourth Fridays of every month by Elk's Lodge No. 1430 in Ventura consists of those who think they can eat all that in 60 minutes or less and pay an entry fee of $25 to give it a try. The winner will receive $100 cash and his/her picture on the Hall of Fame at the Lodge. But thus far, none of the entrants, who range in age from 19 to 65 have finished the burger, much less the banana pudding.

    Juan Carlo / Ventura County Star via AP

    Ken Stamps, 63, of Ventura starts eating the five pounds of beef on a bun served with 10 slices of cheese plus lettuce, pickle, onion, tomato, one pound of fries and, for dessert, two cups of banana pudding on Friday, Oct. 28. About 50 minutes into the eating contest Stamps threw in the towel. The Elk Burger Challenge offered fourth Fridays of every month by Elk's Lodge No. 1430 in Ventura consists of those who think they can eat all that in 60 minutes or less and pay an entry fee of $25 to give it a try. The winner will receive $100 cash and his/her picture on the Hall of Fame at the Lodge. But thus far, none of the entrants, who range in age from 19 to 65 have finished the burger, much less the banana pudding.

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