1st PLACE NEWS PICTURE STORY: Jonathon Gruenke, Daily Press—A MH-60 helicopter departs aircraft carrier USS George Washington Wednesday morning in the Atlantic Ocean. The USS George Washington is returning to Naval Station Norfolk following it’s deployment in Japan Thursday December 17, 2015. The crew of the aircraft carrier USS George Washington begin to travel to Naval Station Norfolk, which will be its first homecoming in Hampton Roads, and its new home port, since 2008.
USS George Washington service members rearrange the Navy flag Wednesday morning. The aircraft carrier USS George Washington is returning to Naval Station Norfolk following it’s deployment in Japan Thursday December 17, 2015.
USS George Washington LS-3 Vu Le, left and LS-2 Willie Rollins, center, pack boxes as service members wait Wednesday afternoon in the hanger bay. The USS George Washington is returning to Naval Station Norfolk following it’s deployment in Japan Thursday December 17, 2015.
AD-3 Jonathan Woodell, left, Amean Ruben Morones, center, Amean Chase Allen, right, and other USS George Washington service members play cards Wednesday afternoon in the hanger bay. The USS George Washington is returning to Naval Station Norfolk following it’s deployment in Japan Thursday December 17, 2015.
USS George Washington sailors navigate from the bridge as the sun sets Wednesday evening in the Atlantic Ocean. The USS George Washington is returning to Naval Station Norfolk following it’s deployment in Japan Thursday December 17, 2015.
USS George Washington service members pack Wednesday afternoon in the hanger bay as they continue preparations to return to Naval Station Norfolk following it’s deployment in Japan Thursday December 17, 2015.
Sailors stand on the flight deck of the USS George Washington as the aircraft carrier begins to arrive at Naval Station Norfolk Thursday morning December 17, 2015.
E-3 Terin Lillard, left, and E-3 Darell Reddick, center, laugh while waiting to leave the USS George Washington after the aircraft carrier arrived at Naval Station Norfolk Thursday morning December 17, 2015.
Family members wait as sailors begin to leave the USS George Washington after the aircraft carrier arrived at Naval Station Norfolk Thursday morning December 17, 2015.
Sailors stand on the flight deck of the USS George Washington as the aircraft carrier begins to arrive at Naval Station Norfolk Thursday morning December 17, 2015.
Petty Officer 1st Class Tim Walden holds his two-year-old daughter, Teagan, left, and three-year-old daughter, Zoe, right, after the USS George Washington arrived at Naval Station Norfolk Thursday morning December 17, 2015.
2nd PLACE NEWS PICTURE STORY: Matt McClain, Washington Post—Babita Bhandani, right, mourns her brother, an earthquake victim at Pashupatinath Temple on Wednesday April 29, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. A deadly earthquake there killed thousands.
Damage from the earthquake is visible as a woman is reflected in a mirror as she walks near Bhaktapur Durbar Square on Saturday May 02, 2015 in Bhaktapur, Nepal.
Earthquake survivor, Pemba Tamang, 15, is carried away after Fairfax County emergency personnel working with USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team assisted in the effort to save Tamang from the rubble on Thursday April 30, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. A deadly earthquake in Nepal has killed thousands. Tamang was buried in the rubble for several days.
Sabitri Nepan wipes away tears as she stands near her earthquake damaged home on Thursday April 30, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal.
A man monitors an earthquake victim’s funeral pyre at Pashupatinath Temple on Wednesday April 29, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. A deadly earthquake there has killed thousands.
A woman reacts to watching a family member’s funeral pyre as earthquake victim’s are remembered on Wednesday April 29, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Smoke engulfs people as they celebrate Buddha Purnima which commemorates the birthday of Buddha near the Boudhanath stupa on Monday May 04, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. The ceremony took on a deeper significance being a little over a week after a deadly earthquake killed thousands.
Widowed and displaced by the earthquake, Minu Nepali, 23, holds her unnamed youngest son as she now lives in a tent encampment on Tuesday May 05, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Her husband was killed in the earthquake.
People cross a bridge carry belongings on Sunday May 03, 2015 in the Nuwakot District of Nepal. Some are carrying relief items that were handed out from a parked truck. Remote areas like the Nuwakot District have had trouble getting aid.
A woman walks out of a tent nestled in a scenic spot on Sunday May 03, 2015 in the Nuwakot District of Nepal. A deadly earthquake in Nepal killed thousands. Tent encampments are a common sight as people have lost their homes or are afraid to return to them because of earthquake damage.
A young boy does a flip into a pit that was being used for garbage at a tent encampment for people displaced by the earthquake on Tuesday May 05, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal.
3rd PLACE NEWS PICTURE STORY: Mike Morones, Military Times—Plebes run to the Severn River to wash off during the annual Sea Trials exercise at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., on Tuesday, May 12, 2015. The event, modeled after the Marine Corps’ Crucible and Navy’s Battle Stations events, runs over 14 hours and tests the plebes’ physical and mental endurance.
Plebe’s participate in the annual Sea Trials exercise at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., on Tuesday, May 12, 2015. The event, modeled after the Marine Corps’ Crucible and Navy’s Battle Stations events, runs over 14 hours and tests the plebes’ physical and mental endurance.
Plebes negotiate a low-crawl obstacle during the annual Sea Trials exercise at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., on Tuesday, May 12, 2015. The event, modeled after the Marine Corps’ Crucible and Navy’s Battle Stations events, runs over 14 hours and tests the plebes’ physical and mental endurance.
Plebe Jack Herold of Chicago climbs a rope at the end of the obstacle course during the annual Sea Trials exercise at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., on Tuesday, May 12, 2015. The event, modeled after the Marine Corps’ Crucible and Navy’s Battle Stations events, runs over 14 hours and tests the plebes’ physical and mental endurance.
Lt. George Yacus, a staff member at the Center for Academic Excellence, greets plebes as they exit the Severn River during the annual Sea Trials exercise at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., on Tuesday, May 12, 2015. The event, modeled after the Marine Corps’ Crucible and Navy’s Battle Stations events, runs over 14 hours and tests the plebes’ physical and mental endurance.
Plebe’s participate in the annual Sea Trials exercise at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., on Tuesday, May 12, 2015. The event, modeled after the Marine Corps’ Crucible and Navy’s Battle Stations events, runs over 14 hours and tests the plebes’ physical and mental endurance.
Nourse Fox, from Memphis, Tenn., and his fellow plebes participate in the annual Sea Trials exercise at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., on Tuesday, May 12, 2015. The event, modeled after the Marine Corps’ Crucible and Navy’s Battle Stations events, runs over 14 hours and tests the plebes’ physical and mental endurance.
Plebes cross a rope bridge during the annual Sea Trials exercise at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., on Tuesday, May 12, 2015. The event, modeled after the Marine Corps’ Crucible and Navy’s Battle Stations events, runs over 14 hours and tests the plebes’ physical and mental endurance.
Plebes cheer on their classmates during the ground fighting portion of the Sea Trials exercise at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., on Tuesday, May 12, 2015. The event, modeled after the Marine Corps’ Crucible and Navy’s Battle Stations events, runs over 14 hours and tests the plebes’ physical and mental endurance.
Midshipman 2nd-class Zach Coffman, of Charlottesville, Va., encourages plebes during the tug-of-war at the annual Sea Trials exercise at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., on Tuesday, May 12, 2015. The event, modeled after the Marine Corps’ Crucible and Navy’s Battle Stations events, runs over 14 hours and tests the plebes’ physical and mental endurance.
Plebes battle with pugil sticks during the annual Sea Trials exercise at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., on Tuesday, May 12, 2015. The event, modeled after the Marine Corps’ Crucible and Navy’s Battle Stations events, runs over 14 hours and tests the plebes’ physical and mental endurance.
Plebes rest in the shade after completing an obstacle course at the annual Sea Trials exercise at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., on Tuesday, May 12, 2015. The event, modeled after the Marine Corps’ Crucible and Navy’s Battle Stations events, runs over 14 hours and tests the plebes’ physical and mental endurance.
HM NEWS PICTURE STORY: Jahi Chikwendiu, Washington Post—In 1965, nonviolent demonstrators endured billy clubs, cattle prods and clouds of tear gas as they protested for their right to vote. SelmaÕs ÒBloody Sunday,Ó a day of shocking violence and stirring courage, spurred passage of the Voting Rights Act, one of the most important achievements of the civil rights era. Fifty years after Bloody Sunday, the brutal, institutionalized racism that outraged much of the country is gone from Selma, but a canyon still exists between races. The city has been divided recently over whether to repair a monument honoring Nathan Bedford Forrest, the Confederate general who later became the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. It’s schools have been effectively segregated since the early 1990s. Much of the outright, institutionalized racism has been replaced with murkier problems that cannot be repaired by a brave stand on a bridge or a single sweeping piece of legislation. Just 60 miles to the south, African-American officials in Shelby County, Alabama, are still fighting for voter rights.
VNPA 