The Ummayyid Mosque in Damascus has been a mosque for around 1,400 years. It sits in the center of a city where many people are struggling to live normal lives amid war. Steve Inskeep/NPR hide caption

A woman holds the door for her daughter at the entrance to the Wales community center, where a meeting for local veterans turned into a gathering for many of the villagers in the tiny town. David Gilkey/NPR hide caption

Vending machines at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock, Ark., were stocked with more healthful snacks in 2006. Danny Johnston/AP hide caption

Basic hearing aids cost an average of $1,500 per ear. IStockphoto.com hide caption

President Obama speaks about the Affordable Care Act at the White House on May 10. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

An elementary school student enjoys Field Day on a playground. Harold Begay, superintendent of the Tuba City Unified School District in Arizona, says the repairs that are needed to playground equipment, school buildings and buses would no€™t be allowed anywhere else. Laurel Morales/KJZZ hide caption

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden proposed adding a giant, inflatable structure that would balloon out of its top and side. Roger L. Wollenberg/UPI/Landov hide caption