Muhammad Ali dies at 74

 

Muhammad Ali, who declared “I am the greatest” and proved it many times over, infuriating some and captivating countless more as he floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee on his way to winning the world heavyweight championship a record three times, becoming perhaps the most widely recognized person on the planet, died Friday in Phoenix. He was 74. Mr. Ali had long suffered from Parkinson’s syndrome. The condition was understood to be a consequence of his boxing career.-- By Lloyd Young

Muhammad Ali jokes with television sports commentator Howard Cosell before the start of the Olympic boxing trials, in West Point, NY., on Aug. 7, 1972. (Associated Press)

Ice float

Ice floats in the Chicago River, seen from the Michigan Avenue Bridge. Below-zero high temperatures expecting to last 2 1/2 days have returned to many parts of the Midwest bringing with it wind chills ranging from the negative teens to temperatures colder than 40 below zero.

Picture: AP Photo/Sun-Times Media, Michael R. Schmidt

Sumatran tiger

A three-month-old Sumatran tiger cub named "Bandar" shows his displeasure after being dunked in the tiger exhibit moat for a swim reliability test at the National Zoo in Washington, Nov. 6, 2013. All cubs born at the zoo must take a swim test before being allowed to roam in the exhibit. Bandar passed his test.

voa

“Tribute in Light”

The “Tribute in Light” illuminates the sky in New York on the 12th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks

Superman

A radio-controlled Superman plane, flown by designer Otto Dieffenbach, passes the moon during a test flight in San Diego, June 27, 2013. Otto and business partner Ed Hanley are a small start-up company that creates flying radio-controlled planes, designed in the form of people, characters and objects, for commercial and promotional uses. 

Mike Blake

Hand crafted bones

June 10, 2013. Hand crafted bones are laid out on the National Mall in Washington, DC. The "One Million Bones" project collected one million handcafted bones to be laid out for three-days on the National Mall to raise awareness of ongoing genocide and mass atrocities in places Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Burma and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Oklahoma tornado

The funnel of a tornadic thunderstorm almost touches the ground near South Haven, in Kansas, May 19, 2013. A massive storm front swept north through the central United States, hammering the region with fist-sized hail, blinding rain and tornadoes, including a half-mile wide twister that struck near Oklahoma City.

Reuters

Roller Coaster in the sea

A roller coaster sits in the ocean after the boardwalk it was built upon collapsed during Hurricane Sandy, in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, November 28, 2012

The remnants of the Jet Star roller coaster is pictured in the ocean, almost five months after Superstorm Sandy, in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, March 21, 2013. 

reuters

Giant Rubber Duck

Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman created the bright-yellow duck, and it was built of PVC material in New Zealand by a company specializing in large sails. Hofman was on hand as the duck arrived and said it later had to be deflated because high winds and waves created a "big challenge."

The duck has been transported around the world since 2007, bringing a message of peace and harmony. It has previously been to Osaka, Japan, Sydney, Sao Paulo, Auckland, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Amsterdam.

A loose pig

Guilford County Animal Control officer E. Afari carries a loose pig to his truck after catching it in Greensboro, N.C., April 11, 2013. Citizens in the area called police after seeing the animal roaming around the area.

Nelson Kepley/News & Record/AP Photo

Ocean waves crash over

Ocean waves crash over a seawall and into houses along the coast in Scituate, Mass., Thursday, March 7, 2013. A nor'easter is bringing wind-whipped, wet snow to Massachusetts, and coastal flooding is expected in communities still recovering from February's blizzard.

AP

Another way to read a book

A skier reads behind a small snow hill out of the wind on top of Pittman Ridge at Eaglecrest Ski Resort in Juneau, Alaska, on March 4. In the background are Stephens Passage and Admiralty Island.

Klas Stolpe

Flash floods in La Plata

Flash floods killed at least 49 people and forced over 3,000 residents to evacuate the city of La Plata, capital of Buenos Aires province, government officials reported.

Thousands were evacuated from their homes and dozens are still stranded on rooftops, treetops and the roofs of city buses, local media report.

The government has declared three days of national mourning after what it called "an unprecedented catastrophe".

reuters

Easter Bunny and the Police

A man dressed as the Easter Bunny is given a warning by California Highway Patrol (CHP) Officer Adam Griffiths in this CHP handout photo in La Mesa, California March 31, 2013. The man was stopped on his motorcyle for not wearing a proper safety helmet and because his costume might impair his vision

REUTERS/CHP/Handout

Roman soldier

A boy dressed up as a Roman soldier takes part in a Good Friday procession in San Antonio de Escazu, near San Jose. March 29, 2013. Holy Week is celebrated in many Christian traditions during the week before Easter

REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate

World Water Day

World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day.

Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater. In 2013, in reflection of the International Year of Water Cooperation, World Water Day is also dedicated to the theme of cooperation around water and is coordinated by UNESCO in collaboration with UNECE and UNDESA on behalf of UN-Water.

AP/AFP/PTI/Wikimedia

Heavy Rains

A cold front causing heavy rains, winds and huge waves causes six cargo ships to run aground in Panama. afp

The Guatemala City sinkhole

The Guatemala City sinkhole, estimated to be 60 feet (18 meters) wide and 300 feet (100 meters) deep, appears to have been triggered by the deluge from tropical storm Agatha Moises Castillo

Digging Tunnels

Far beneath the bustling streets of Manhattan, and out of sight for the majority of New York City’s 8 million residents, the largest transportation project in the country is churning away day and night hollowing out granite to create six miles of new tunnels Patric Cashin