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Day in photos Doomsday, winter solstice, snow storms hit Midwest, a Roman midwinter festival and more.
Dec. 21, 2012
A man takes part with other druids, pagans and revellers in a winter solstice ceremony at Stonehenge in Wiltshire County, England. Predictions that the world will end Friday as it marks the end of a 5,125-year-long cycle in the ancient Mayan calendar encouraged a larger-than-normal crowd to gather at the famous historic stone circle to celebrate the sunrise closest to the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year.
Matt Cardy
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Getty Images
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Dec. 21, 2012
A woman dressed as a unicorn watches the sun rise during a winter solstice ceremony at Stonehenge.
Matt Cardy
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Getty Images
Dec. 21, 2012
People cheers as the time passes 11:11 a.m., the time the Mayan apocalypse was supposed to occur, at a ceremony following the traditional winter solstice celebrations at Stonehenge.
Matt Cardy
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Getty Images
Dec. 21, 2012
Guatemalan Mayans take part in a ceremony of fire in the beginning of a new Mayan age at the Tikal archaeological site in Guatemala. Ceremonies are being held Friday to celebrate the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak’tun 13 and the start of the new age.
Hector Retamal
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AFP/Getty Images
Dec. 21, 2012
Guatemalan Mayans take part in celebrations at the Tikal archaeological site.
Hector Retamal
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AFP/Getty Images
Dec. 21, 2012
Visitors raise their hands during celebrations for the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Maya new age at the Chichen Itza archaeological park in Yucatan state, Mexico.
Pedro Pardo
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AFP/Getty Images
Dec. 21, 2012
Mayan shamans take part in a ceremony celebrating the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Mayan new age at the Tikal archaeological site in Guatemala.
Johan Ordonez
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AFP/Getty Images
Dec. 21, 2012
Homeless people sleep in a tent at Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach early on summer’s first day.
Antonio Scorza
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AFP/Getty Images
Dec. 20, 2012
Speleologists of the French gendarmerie, a paramilitary with civilian duties, inspect caves in Bugarach, France, which some have interpreted as being the only place on the planet that will be saved from the apocalypse. The supposed end of the Mayan long-count calendar Friday has prompted a wave of doomsday speculation across the globe.
Patrick Aventurier
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Getty Images
Dec. 21, 2012
Mayan doomsday cultists are flocking to Mount Rtanj, a pyramidal peak in Serbia, which they believe may have the power to save them. Though the Mayans never predicted outright that the world would end Dec. 21, 2012, some New Agers are convinced that the apocalypse is indeed coming on the supposed end of a 5,125-year Mayan calendar.
Darko Vojinovic
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AP
Dec. 21, 2012
Boris Lezhnin, 75, his face covered with hoarfrost, walks along in minus-22-degree weather along an embankment of the Yenisei River in Russian Siberian the town of Divnogorsk. Lezhnin said that he goes on his evening walks in any weather.
Ilya Naymushin
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Reuters
Dec. 20, 2012
Robert Loud takes a break from his getting-ready-for-winter chores outside his home in Denmark, Maine. His front porch, which has been reinforced with three 10-by-10-inch beams, is packed solid with 10 cords of firewood. “It’s enough for two years, just in case I don't feel like putting in all that work next year — although that's improbable since I enjoy the work,” he said.
Robert F. Bukaty
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AP
Dec. 20, 2012
Eleven-year-old Quinn Dzikonski and her father, Craig Dzikonski, build a family of snowmen outside their home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The first widespread snowstorm of the season crawled across the Midwest on Thursday, with whiteout conditions stranding holiday travelers and sending drivers sliding over slick roads — resulting in one instance in a fatal 25-vehicle pileup in Iowa.
Cliff Jette
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Gazette via AP
Dec. 20, 2012
Zach Stead and his dog, Tucker, brave high winds, snow and freezing temperatures while walking outside in Springfield, Ill.
Seth Perlman
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AP
Dec. 20, 2012
Cars and semi-trucks collided in an accident on Interstate 35 near the Hamilton-Wright County line in Iowa.
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Iowa State Patrol via Reuters
Dec. 20, 2012
Motorists wait for a light change amid visibility-reducing snow in in Lawrence, Kan.
Orlin Wagner
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AP
Dec. 20, 2012
Andrew Davis’s 1995 Nissan Pathfinder was destroyed when a pine tree crashed into it after severe weather passed through Mobile, Ala. The powerful storm peeled the roofs from buildings, toppled trucks and blew down oak trees and limbs in the Mobile area, leading to some road closures but no reports of major injuries, authorities said early Thursday.
Mike Brantley
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AL.com via AP
Dec. 19, 2012
At Blue Ridge Arsenal in Chantilly, Mark Warner wraps up the store’s last Diamondback AR-15; all other AR-15s had sold earlier in the day. The firearm comes with one 30-round magazine. The customer, who asked not to be identified, bought three additional 30-round magazines because, the customer said, the magazine that is included with the weapon breaks quickly.
Tracy A. Woodward
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The Washington Post
Dec. 20, 2012
Customers shop for guns at Guns-R-Us in Phoenix. With the possibility of new gun legislation on the horizon, many local gun shops saw an increase in sales over the past few days.
Ralph D. Freso
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Reuters
Dec. 21, 2012
A man pedals past a statue after a snowfall in Pyongyang, North Korea.
Ng Han Guan
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AP
Dec. 20, 2012
A child plays with a model airplane near the Mazayin Dhafra Camel Festival, outside the city of Madinat Zayed, United Arab Emirates. The festival, which attracts participants from around the Gulf region, includes a camel beauty contest, a display of handcrafts and other activities aimed at promoting the country's folklore.
Karim Sahib
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AFP/Getty Images
Dec. 20, 2012
A 14-foot Christmas tree appears to be crashing through the roof of a one-story house in Seattle's Magnolia neighborhood. Homeowner Patrick Kruger created the illusion by cutting the tree into two pieces and attaching the top six-foot section to a piece of plywood that is bolted to the roof.
Elaine Thompson
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AP
Dec. 20, 2012
Reenactors from the Roman Deva Victrix 20th Legion parade through the English city of Chester as they celebrate the ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia. Saturnalia was the mid-winter feast when Romans commemorated the dedication of the temple of the god Saturn. Ancient Romans thought that celebrating Saturn would bring back the light and warmth of summer. During the ancient festival there was a reversal of roles, with slaves wearing fine garments and sitting at the head of the table while they were waited upon by their masters.
Christopher Furlong
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Getty Images
Dec. 20, 2012
Reenactors from the Roman Deva Victrix 20th Legion parade through Chester as they celebrate the ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia.
Christopher Furlong
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Getty Images
Dec. 21, 2012
Big John the Tasmanian devil growls from the confines of his new tree house as he makes his first appearance at the Wild Life Sydney Zoo in Sydney. The Tasmanian devil is the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world.
Rob Griffith
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AP
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