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From a cat bath to peeping chicks and dozing pandas, get your cuteness fix with creatures great and small.
Seagulls fly over the skies of Rome in this slow-exposure photo taken on May 2.
Vandeville Eric / Abaca
A policemen is given medical attention after being shot in a square outside the Palace Chigi Premier's office in Rome, Italy, April 28.
ROME (Reuters) - Enrico Letta was sworn in as Italy's new prime minister on Sunday and immediately faced an emergency after an unemployed man shot two police officers outside his office.
The 49-year-old gunman, from the poor southern region of Calabria, told investigators he had planned to attack politicians but had found none within range.
One of the officers was shot in the neck, hitting his spinal cord, and he was in a serious condition, surgeons said. The other was shot in the leg.
Mauro Scrobogna / AP
Police arrest 49-year-old Luigi Preiti after the shooting.
Angelo Carconi / EPA
Forensic police investigate the site of the shooting.
Tony Gentile / Reuters
A gust of wind blows Pope Francis' mantle as he stands on the balcony of St. John's in Lateran basilica after celebrating a solemn mass in Rome, Italy, April 7. The pontiff officially took possession of the basilica which is his cathedral in his capacity as bishop of Rome, on Sunday.
Tony Gentile / Reuters
Vice President Joe Biden enters to meet Italy's President Giorgio Napolitano at the Quirinale in Rome on March 18. Biden is in Italy to attend the inaugural mass of newly-elected Pope Francis, which is to be held at the Vatican on Tuesday.
Osservatore Romano via Reuters
Newly elected Pope Francis, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, checks out of the church-run residence on March 14, where he had been staying in Rome. Pope Francis returned on Thursday to the Church-run residence where he was staying before becoming pontiff, and insisted on paying the bill, despite now effectively being in charge of the business, the Vatican said.
Marcos Brindicci / Reuters
Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina was elected to lead the Catholic Church following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.
By Alastair Jamieson and Claudio Lavanga, NBC News
The Latin American pope’s election shattered Europe's centuries-old grip on the papacy, and his choice of name — in honor of the 12th century saint from Assisi — is widely seen as a nod to a new era of simplicity.
Lombardi said Pope Francis declined the official papal car for his first journey from the Sistine Chapel, choosing instead to board a bus with cardinals who had just elected him.
Later, at dinner, the new pope prompted laughter by responding to their toast with the remark: "May god forgive you for what you have done."
Francis returned Thursday to the church-run hostel where he had stayed ahead of the conclave and insisted on paying the bill.
"He was concerned about giving a good example of what priests and bishops should do," a Vatican spokesman said. He did not disclose how much the bill totaled. Read more.
Story: Trading in the bus for a butler: The new pope's new lifestyle
Editor's note: NBC News received this photo on March 15
Luca Bruno / AP
The faithful gather in 2005 near St. Peter's to witness Pope John Paul II's body being carried into the Basilica for public viewing.
Michael Sohn / AP
St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, on March 13, 2013.
By Carlo Dellaverson, NBC News
In 2005, visitors packed into the expansive boulevard leading up to St. Peter’s Square as Pope John Paul II’s body was carried into the crowd for public viewing in the days following his death. Taken nearly two years before the iPhone debuted, the photo is striking now for its appearance straight out of another era.
For anyone who has ever been to a concert, the photo at bottom, taken Tuesday night as Pope Francis made his inaugural appearance on the Vatican balcony, seems almost ordinary. The two, taken together, reflect a world changing, even as some ancient traditions stay the same.
Also see:
Emilio Morenatti / AP
A nun reacts after white smoke billowed from the chimney on the Sistine Chapel indicating that a new pope has been elected in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, on March 13, 2013.
Dan Kitwood / Getty Images
A nun reacts as newly elected Pope Francis appears on the central balcony of St Peter's Basilica on March 13, 2013 in Vatican City, Vatican.
Gabriel Bouys / AFP - Getty Images
Nuns react after Argentina's Jorge Bergoglio was elected Pope Francis on March 13, 2013 at St Peter's square at the Vatican.
Guido Montana / EPA
Nuns show their emotions as they hear the news that a new pope has been elected as they join pilgrims in Saint Peter's Square, on March 13, 2013.
Emilio Morenatti / AP
People react after white smoke billowed from the chimney on the Sistine Chapel indicating that a new pope has been elected in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, on March 13, 2013.
Dan Kitwood / Getty Images
People talk in St Peter's Square after newly elected Pope Francis I appeared on the central balcony of St Peter's Basilica on March 13, 2013 in Vatican City, Vatican.
Spencer Platt / Getty Images
People stand in St. Peter's Square as they listen to newly elected pope, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, who will take the name Pope Francis, on March 13, 2013 in Vatican City, Vatican.
Ghazi Balkiz / NBC News
A nun smiles and claps her hands at St. Peter's Square outside the Vatican in Rome as Pope Frances addresses the crowd for the first time, on March 13, 2013.
Becky Bratu, Staff Writer, NBC News writes:
As the last puffs of white smoke dissipated at the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday, women religious in the United States received the news of the pope's election with a mix of surprise and hope that he would shepherd the church through its current crisis.
Also see:
Emilio Morenatti / AP
A nun reacts after white smoke billowed from the chimney on the Sistine Chapel indicating that a new pope has been elected in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, on March 13, 2013.
On purpose and by chance, Americans join crowd in St. Peter's Square to watch for signs of a newly elected Pope
By John Brecher, Sr. Multimedia Editor, NBC News
What do you if you're an American Catholic and you happen to be in Rome during a papal conclave? If you're Angelique Porres, you brave cold, rainy weather and stand in St. Peter's Square to watch for smoke rising from the Sistine Chapel. The opportunity to maybe see a newly-elected pope emerge "is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for us." "The future of our faith is here," she added, "It's everything." Watch this video to see other Americans talk about their encounter with papal history in Vatican City. Read the full story.
Massimo Percossi / EPA
US faithful hold signs as the wait for the first smoke in Saint Peter Square, Vatican City, 12 March 2013. At right, a woman holds a sign putting forward Len Brennan, a fictional bishop from the TV comedy 'Father Ted', for Pope.
Andrew Medichini / AP
Cardinals from around the world gather in the Vatican to elect the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
Max Rossi / Reuters
Pope Benedict XVI waves as he arrives for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception prayer in Piazza di Spagna in downtown Rome on Dec. 8. This papal tradition marks the beginning of the Christmas season in Italy as the Pope crowns a statue of Mary with a garland of flowers.
Gregorio Borgia / AP
This combined picture shows Italian sculptor Oliviero Rainaldi's statue of Pope John Paul II before its restoration, left, on Sept. 23, 2011, and at its inauguration after the restoration, in Rome on Nov. 19, 2012.
The Associated Press reports — The city of Rome has inaugurated a revamped statue of Pope John Paul II after the first one was pilloried by the public and the Vatican.
Pope or Mussolini? Statue sparks uproar
Artist Oliviero Rainaldi says he's pleased with the final product, saying it matches his original vision. He blamed foundry workers for a botched assemblage the first time around.
The statue was restored after Rainaldi was pilloried by the Vatican for creating a sculpture of Pope John Paul II that some mockingly said looked more like Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini than the beloved late pontiff. Even the Vatican's own art critic wrote that it looked like a "bomb" had landed.
Gregorio Borgia / AP
A woman stops to look at the newly unveiled Pope John Paul II statue in Rome on Nov. 19, 2012.
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Franco Origlia / Getty Images Contributor
People dance on the 'Gangnam Style' song during a flashmob organized at Piazza del Popolo on Nov. 10, in Rome. Some 5,000 people, most of them teenagers, took part in the event which started at exactly 4:45PM and lasted the the length of the song of the South Korean DJ PSY.
Vincenzo Pinto / AFP - Getty Images
Vincenzo Pinto / AFP - Getty Images
Guido Montani / EPA
Alcoa workers clash with police near the Ministry of Economic Development in Rome on Sept. 10.
Workers from a threatened Alcoa Inc. aluminum plant in Sardinia clashed with police Monday as they continued a protest in Rome to pressure the Italian government to intervene to keep the factory open.
Reuters reports: U.S.-based Alcoa plans to close the loss-making factory by November unless a buyer is found. The only interested suitor, German hedge fund Aurelius, pulled out of talks with the government in August.
Closure of the plant, a major employer on Sardinia, would be a heavy blow for the island, risking hundreds of jobs in a region already beset by high unemployment and a sluggish economy.
Tony Gentile / Reuters
A protesting Alcoa worker stands in front of a line of police.
Andreas Solaro / AFP - Getty Images
A protesting Alcoa employee holds up a smoke device.
Filippo Monteforte / AFP - Getty Images
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