Fog rises off the Missouri River in front of the Missouri State Capitol building on the morning of Jan. 3, 2024, in Jefferson City, Mo.
×From left, Connely Zuber, 9, Tripp Zuber, 12, and Holden Basseen, 11, watch as a whitetip reef shark swims by on July 25, 2023 at the St. Louis Aquarium. The trio visited the aquarium during its Shark Week celebration, in preparation for a trip to Florida to swim with sharks later that week.
×Javon Greenwood Jr. carries the cover of his soap box car to an art room on June 9, 2023 at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation building in East St. Louis. Given the opportunity by the JJK, Greenwood was constructing his first-ever boxcar. He would go on to place third in the city's annual derby.
×Missouri State Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring, announces his bid for governor on Sept. 8, 2023, at the St. Charles County Regional Airport in Portage Des Sioux, Mo. The Air Force veteran and member of the legislature’s conservative caucus, Eigel has built a platform around limiting abortion rights, limiting the rights of transgender people and aligning himself with former President Donald Trump.
×Jack Gietl screams while wearing American-flag themed face paint, after a U.S. Men's National Soccer Team match on June 28, 2023 at CityPark in St. Louis.
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The University of Alabama gymnastics team celebrates after a teammate lands a tumbling pattern on Feb. 1, 2019 at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo. Alabama won the meet against the University of Missouri.
×Coast Guard BM2 Jakob Morgan looks out at the cargo ship Dali and the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge during a media tour of the wreckage on April 9, 2024, in the Port of Baltimore. The initial collapse two weeks prior killed six road maintenance workers and blocked shipping lanes in and out of the port for weeks as crews worked to clear the wreckage.
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My friend Dasha Vilchinskaia gets a closer look at me during a WhatsApp video call on March 27, 2020. Vilchinskaia and I met in Denmark — she was the international program’s sole student from Russia. In the two months we were both in Europe, we became quite close. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, I was forced home to Missouri while she stayed in Denmark. I miss her dearly.
×Mayor Tishaura Jones awaits the start of a community listening session on gun violence prevention on Aug. 22, 2023, at Friendly Temple Church in the Wells Goodfellow neighborhood of St. Louis. At the session, Jones announced a new push for city laws that would close loopholes in Missouri's loose gun regulations. That previous weekend, a shooting in the city left one dead and two injured.
×Rev. Anthony Woods, left, kneels while Rev. James E. Dunn, Sr. leads the congregation in prayer on April 10, 2022 at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Columbia. COVID-19 protections and a shift to online ministry posed unique challenges for many historically Black churches, including Friendship Missionary, where physical touch is often central to the congregations's worship experience.
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People watch a projection of Governor Mike Parson as he gives the State of the State address, Jan. 27, 2021, in the rotunda of the Capitol in Jefferson City, Mo. Hours before his speech, Parson was stopped from giving his address inside the House of Representatives, fueling an ongoing feud between him and fellow Republican Speaker of the House Rob Vescovo. In a letter later sent to lawmakers, Parson called the decision to move his speech to the Senate a “purposeful and disgusting scheme to embarrass” him by House leadership.
×Hadah McCoy says goodbye to two of her dogs on Oct. 3, 2023, outside City Hall in downtown St. Louis. As city employees took down the tent they'd been living in, McCoy and her husband learned they would be unable to bring their three dogs to the temporary housing the city set up for them. They were forced to leave two of the three behind with a volunteer.
×Bowen Cox, 6, and Pumpkin the cat play together on the morning of Sept. 24, 2020 at the Cox’s family home in Marshfield, Mo.
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Hickman freshman Allison Weng, left, and junior Batti Camper rest between performances October 11, 2019 at Hickman High School. Both girls were members of the Hickman High School color guard. The color guard and band performed before the game and during halftime.
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