Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi waves to his supporters after casting his ballot inside a polling station during the presidential elections in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. Mosa'ab Elshamy/AP hide caption
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Sunday
Former U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, died on Sunday. Johnson, pictured in 2019, is seen introducing state Sen. Royce West at a rally where West announced his bid to run for the U.S. Senate, in Dallas. Tony Gutierrez/AP hide caption
Queen Margrethe II announces her abdication from Christian IX's Palace, Amalienborg Castle, in Copenhagen, on Sunday, Dec. 31 2023, during her New Year's address. Keld Navntoft/Ritzau Scanpix via AP hide caption
The New Year's Eve ball drops in a mostly empty Times Square on Jan. 1, 2021, in New York City. David Dee Delgado/Getty Images hide caption
A mermaid takes the annual polar bear plunge at Brooklyn's Coney Island beach last year. More people take cold plunges on a regular basis for health benefits, but hype outpaces research for now. Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Palestinians visit the graves of people killed in an Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip and buried inside the Shifa Hospital grounds in Gaza City, on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023. Mohammed Hajjar/AP hide caption
A Phalanx weapons defense cannon is mounted on the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Gravely on March 14, 2023. The U.S. military said Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023, it shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired toward a container ship by Yemen's Houthi rebels in the Red Sea and thwarted an attack by small boat crews on the same ship later. John C. Clark/AP file photo hide caption
Laura Keenan and her son, Evan, hold a photo of her late husband Matt Keenan, who was killed while riding his bike in San Diego in 2021. Courtesy of Laura Keenan hide caption
The rules of the road are changing, but not fast enough for everyone
An appliance market in Xi'an, China, where Jiang has a construction equipment rental company. He says economic conditions are worse now than during the pandemic, when he started the appliance business, and he isn't selling as much as he used to. John Ruwitch/NPR hide caption
A year after China ended its harsh COVID policies, it's struggling to rebound
Some of the constellations that are visible from the Northern Hemisphere at different times of the year. NASA/JPL-Caltech hide caption
Checking your 2024 horoscope? Astronomy explains why your sign might have changed
Saturday
MAYAGÜEZ, Puerto Rico: Carol Buckley works to coax Mundi into the transport cage that will carry her from the Puerto Rico zoo to Buckley's elephant refuge in Georgia. Buckley worked for two weeks to earn the elephant's trust. See the story. Erika P. Rodríguez for NPR hide caption
Cade Cunningham #2 of the Detroit Pistons drives to the basket between Gary Trent Jr. #33 and Jakob Poeltl #19 of the Toronto Raptors during the first half at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday in Detroit. Gregory Shamus/Getty Images hide caption
Paula Abdul and producer Nigel Lythgoe are pictured in Los Angeles at a Television Academy event in 2014. Vince Bucci/Vince Bucci/Invision/AP hide caption
English actor Tom Wilkinson poses for photographers on the red carpet ahead of the Royal and World Premiere of the film The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel in London on Feb. 17, 2015. Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images hide caption