US News

The day in photos

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U.S. President Barack Obama presents the Medal of Honor to former U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ryan M. Pitts for gallantry in Afghanistan, while in the East Room at the White House in Washington, July 21, 2014. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)
President Obama presents a Medal of Honor to former US Army Staff Sgt. Ryan M. Pitts in Washington. Reuters
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A father (C) and his two sons have their heads shaven as part of a ritual after what they say was fulfilment of their wishes during the Aadi Krithigai festival celebrations at a temple in the southern Indian city of Chennai July 21, 2014. During the festival, Hindu women also fast for the whole day in hope of winning the favour of Lord Muruga. REUTERS/Babu (INDIA - Tags: RELIGION SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)
A father and his two sons get their heads shaved for an Aadi Krithigai festival in Chennai, India. Reuters
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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is greeted by Egypt's Minister of Foreign Affairs protocol chief Nabil Habashi as Kerry arrives in Cairo July 21, 2014. Kerry on Monday began a diplomatic push to try to secure a ceasefire in the intensifying Israel-Hamas conflict. Speaking to reporters as Kerry flew to Cairo, senior U.S. officials stressed the challenge of ending two weeks of violence in which more than five hundred people, most of them Palestinians, have died. REUTERS/Charles Dharapak/ Pool (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)
Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nabil Habashi greets Secretary of State John Kerry in Cairo. Reuters
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ATTENTION EDITORS - REUTERS PICTURE HIGHLIGHT TRANSMITTED BY 1938 GMT ON JULY 21, 2014 JER44 Israelis take cover as a siren warning of incoming rockets sounds in the southern city of Ashkelon. REUTERS/Amir Cohen REUTERS NEWS PICTURES HAS NOW MADE IT EASIER TO FIND THE BEST PHOTOS FROM THE MOST IMPORTANT STORIES AND TOP STANDALONES EACH DAY. Search for "TPX" in the IPTC Supplemental Category field or "IMAGES OF THE DAY" in the Caption field and you will find a selection of 80-100 of our daily Top Pictures. REUTERS NEWS PICTURES. TEMPLATE OUT
A family takes shelter as missile sirens go off in Ashkelon, Israel. Reuters
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ATTENTION EDITORS - REUTERS PICTURE HIGHLIGHT TRANSMITTED BY 2015 GMT ON JULY 21, 2014 JER58 An Israeli mobile artillery unit fires towards the Gaza Strip. REUTERS/Nir Elias REUTERS NEWS PICTURES HAS NOW MADE IT EASIER TO FIND THE BEST PHOTOS FROM THE MOST IMPORTANT STORIES AND TOP STANDALONES EACH DAY. Search for "TPX" in the IPTC Supplemental Category field or "IMAGES OF THE DAY" in the Caption field and you will find a selection of 80-100 of our daily Top Pictures. REUTERS NEWS PICTURES. TEMPLATE OUT
An Israeli tank fires toward Gaza. Reuters
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The Miami skyline is pictured from a causeway on a rainy day in Miami, July 21, 2014. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri (UNITED STATES - Tags: SOCIETY CITYSCAPE)
The Miami skyline is covered in clouds. Reuters
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BOZHOU, CHINA - JULY 20: (CHINA OUT) An ostrich is sprayed with water for cooling at the Zoo of Caocao Park on July 20, 2014 in Bozhou, Anhui Province of China. According to the weather forecast, the temperature will be above 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) in Huanghuai and Jianghuai plains. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)
An ostrich is sprayed with water on a hot day in Bozhou, China. Getty
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WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 21: U.S. President Barack Obama speaks about the about My Brother's Keeper initiative at the Walker Jones Education Campus on July 21, 2014 in Washington, DC. Obama spoke to area youth during a town hall meeting about the initiaive that is intended to help young men and boys of color. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
President Obama speaks about the My Brother’s Keeper initiative in Washington. Getty
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WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 21: Members of United We Dream, hold a mock coffin during a protest July 21, 2014 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Activists staged "funeral services for the Republican Party" because "the GOP has embraced radical right-wing policies and has actively called for the separation of families and the deportation of Dreamers." (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
United We Dream immigration activists protest in Washington. Getty
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Family and friends of Maj. Tzafrir Bar-Or, 32, one of 13 soldiers killed in several separate incidents in Shijaiyah on Sunday, mourn during his funeral at the military cemetery in Holon, Monday, July 21, 2014. On Sunday, the first major ground battle in two weeks of Israel-Hamas fighting exacted a steep price, killing scores of Palestinians and more than a dozen Israeli soldiers and forcing thousands of terrified Palestinian civilians to flee their devastated Shijaiyah neighborhood, which Israel says is a major source for rocket fire against its civilians. (AP Photo/Dan Balilty)
Family and friends in Holon, Israel, mourn soldiers killed in Shijaiyah. AP
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Waitresses hold candles at the entrance of restaurant Asian Glories after a walk to commemorate victims of Flight 17 in Rotterdam, Monday, July 21, 2014. Hundreds of mourners, including famous chefs and the cityÂ’s mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb, walked in the rain, in the port city of Rotterdam to commemorate a couple Jenny Loh and Popo Fan, who ran a popular Chinese restaurant 'Asian Glories' in the city and were victims in the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. (AP Photo/Phil Nijhuis)
Waitresses hold candles after a walk to commemorate victims of Flight MH17 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. AP
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Ukrainian Emergency workers carry a victim's body in a plastic bag at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 near the village of Hrabove, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine Monday, July 21, 2014. Another 21 bodies have been found in the sprawling fields of east Ukraine where Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was downed last week, killing all 298 people aboard. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)
Ukrainian emergency workers carry a victim’s body in a plastic bag at the MH17 crash site in Donetsk. AP
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Vice President Joe Biden salutes members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars at the VFW National Convention in America's Center in St. Louis, Mo., Monday, July 21, 2014. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Robert Cohen)
Vice President Joe Biden salutes members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in St. Louis. AP
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A black-eyed Susan seemed to be a good stopping point Monday July 21, 2014, at the corner of Holman and Wallace streets in Alton, Ill., for a metallic green bee known as Agapostemon splendens. The bees can be seen in a wide range in the United States from April through October. (AP Photo/The Telegraph, John Badman) BELLEVILLE NEWS-DEMOCRAT OUT; ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH OUT
A metallic green bee (Agapostemon splendens) stops on a black-eyed Susan in Alton, Illinois. AP
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Gov. Rick Perry speaks during a news conference in the Governor's press room, Monday, July 21, 2014, in Austin, Texas. Gov. Perry announced he is deploying up to 1,000 National Guard troops over the next month to the Texas-Mexico border to combat criminals that Republican state leaders say are exploiting a surge of children and families entering the U.S. illegally. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks out on immigration reform in Austin. AP
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Rhonda Avery volunteers to help load watermelons into vehicles Monday, July 21, 2014, at the Salvation Army in Bowling Green, Ky. The Salvation Army unexpectedly received a semi-truck trailer full of watermelons and soon had vehicles lined up to take the free watermelons. (AP Photo/Daily News, Miranda Pederson)
Salvation Army volunteers hand out free watermelons in Bowling Green, Kentucky. AP
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Young owls perched on a limb Sunday morning, July 20, 2014, in Salina, Kan., watch a vistor near their tree. (AP Photo/Salina Journal, Tom Dorsey)
Owls watch passersby in Salina, Kansas. AP
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Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel signs the condolence book for the victims of the MH17 disaster at the Netherlands Embassy in Washington
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel signs the condolence book for the victims of the MH17 disaster at the Netherlands Embassy in Washington. AP