Apotheosis of the Titans

Sunaina Dumala grieves near the body of her husband Srinivas Kuchibhotla at their residence on the outskirts of Hyderabad, India, Tuesday, Feb.28, 2017. Hundreds of grieving family and friends tearfully mourned the 32-year-old engineer in his southern Indian hometown Tuesday after he was killed in an apparently racially motivated shooting in a crowded Kansas bar..: photo by Mahesh Kumar A./AP, 28 February 2017

CHINA - Two men sleep on a grass field in front of the Shanghai South Railway Station. Photo @johaynz #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffard AFP, 28 February 2017

Indian passengers hang onto a train as it departs from a station on the outskirts of New Delhi. @AFPphoto #India #dailylife: image via Prakash Singh @PrakashAFP, 28 February 2017

Indian passengers hang onto a train as it departs from a station on the outskirts of New Delhi, India. Photo @PrakashAFP: image via Aurelia BAILLY @AureliaBAILLY, 28 February 2017

Indian passengers hang onto a train as it departs from a station on the outskirts of New Delhi. @AFPphoto #India #dailylife @PrakashAFP: image via Prakash Singh @PrakashAFP, 28 February 2017

Indian passengers hang onto a train as it departs from a station on the outskirts of New Delhi, India. Photo @PrakashAFP: image via Aurelia BAILLY @AureliaBAILLY, 28 February 2017

INDIA - A milkman waits for customer as a street salesman prepares paan for sale in the old quarters of New Delhi. Photo @PrakashAFP #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 27 February 2017

An Indian street salesman (R) prepares paan -- betel leaves with areca nut and other condiments - in the old Delhi. @afpphoto #dailylife: image via Prakash Singh @PrakashAFP, 21 February 2017

INDIA - An Indian worker waters a stack of bricks at a construction site in New Delhi. Photo @Money_Sharma #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 27 February 2017

An Indian mahout rides an elephant through traffic in New Delhi.: image via Prakash Singh @PrakashAFP, 28 February 2017

The sun rises behind pylons carrying high voltage electricity lines on the outskirts of New Delhi. Photo @PrakashAFP: image via Aurelia BAILLY @AureliaBAILLY, 21 February 2017

INDIA - Indian firefighters work to control a fire that broke out in a three-storey century-old building in Kolkata. Photo @Dibyangshus #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 27 February 2017

EL SALVADOR - Men extract sand from the Lempa River to use for construction, in San Marcos Lempa. Photo @marvinrtecinos #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffard AFP, 28 February 2017

Nope

My photos from the Trump speech tonight: photo by Billl Clark @billclarkphotos, 28 February 2017

"Mr. Speaker, the President of the United States!" Donald Trump delivers his first address to Congress #JointAddress: image via Getty Images @GettyImages, 28 February 2017

Highlights from President Donald Trump's first address to Congress #JointAddress: image via Getty Images @GettyImages, 28 February 2017

KellyAnne Conway kneels on Oval Office Couch, sparks debate: image via AP Images @AP_Images, 28 February 2017

Protesters arriving outside @RepLanceNJ7 town hall meeting scheduled for later this evening.: image via Bill Clark @billclarkphotos, 22 February 2017

Demonstrators in Chicago call on U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski to hold a town hall meeting. @GettyImagesNews @RepLipinski: image via scott olson @olsongetty, 23 February 207 23 February 2017

Protesters take part in a No Ban, No Wall rally to support the rights of immigrants and oppose a border wall and support sanctuary cities, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017, at the State Capitol in Austin, Texas.: photo by Eric Gay/AP, 28 February 2017

MEXICO - An activist paint the wall between the US & Mexico during a demo against US President Trump in Ciudad Juarez. Photo by Herika Martinez: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffard AFP, 28 February 2017

President Donald Trump, flanked by Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., gestures on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017, before his address to a joint session of Congress.: photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP, 8 February 2017

Visitors to the National September 11 memorial peak into the museum, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017, in New York.: photo by Mary Altaffer/AP, 28 February 2017

A world beyond the gold and marble towers

An Afghan health worker vaccinates a child as part of a campaign to eliminate polio on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017.: photo by Rahmat Gul/AP, 28 February 2017

IRAQ - Displaced Iraqis walk past an armoured vehicle as they flee Mosul while Iraqi forces battle against IS fighters. Photo @ArisMessinis: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffard AFP, 28 February 2017

Displaced residents of #mosul evacuate the city as the Iraqi troops fight with IS fighters. #MosulOffensive: image via Aris Messinis @ArisMessinis, 28 February 2017

IRAQ - A displaced Iraqi boy cries as he flees Mosul while Iraqi forces battle against IS fighters. Photo @ArisMessinis #MosulOffensive: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffard AFP, 28 February 2017

An Iraqi Federal policeman gives water to one of two handcuffed suspected Islamic State militants after they were arrested inside their home on the western side of Mosul, Iraq, Monday, Feb. 27. 2017.: photo by Khalid Mohammed/AP, 27 February 2017

A Kashmiri fisherman repairs his fishing net on the banks of a river in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, Feb 27, 2017. Kashmir is a green, saucer-shaped valley surrounded by snowy mountain ranges with over hundred lakes dotting its highlands and plains.: photo by Mukhtar Khan/AP, 27 February 2017

Indian Hindu holy men feed their elephant on the outskirts of Jammu, India, Monday, Feb.27, 2017. The holy men parade the elephant through the streets to bless devotees in return for alms. The elephant is sacred to Hindu devotees who consider it the living incarnation of Hindu god Ganesha.: photo by Channi Anand/AP, 27 February 2017)

Ego disguised as compassion

Sean SpicerVerified account @PressSec

Post #JointAddress@POTUS embraces Carryn Owens #AmericanSpirit

Reading The Pictures Retweeted Sean Spicer

Reading The Pictures added,

Vintage Trump. Ego disguised as compassion. Drowning out the SEAL’s father. #RecordOvation #WilliamOwens #RyanOwens

image via Reading The Pictures @ReadingThePix, 28 February 2017

Sean SpicerVerified account @PressSec
@WhiteHouse staff welcomes @POTUS back after historic and powerful #JointAddress

Reading The Pictures Retweeted Sean Spicer

Reading The Pictures added,
So indicative of DYI and “novices rule,” @PressSec moves his own awful snaps, even one capturing underutilized WH photographer.

image via Reading The Pictures @ReadingThePix, 28 February 2017

Hello darkness, my old friend: image via Parker Molloy @ParkerMolloy, 28 February 2017

Did he say “radical Islamic terrorism”? #jointaddress: image via Reading The Pictures @ReadingThePix, 28 February 2017

Bobbsey twins#jointaddress: image via Reading The Pictures @ReadingThePix, 28 February 2017

During the war lecture #jointaddress: image via Reading The Pictures @ReadingThePix, 28 February 2017

“A new record.”#jointaddress: image via Reading The Pictures @ReadingThePix, 28 February 2017

Love for all the African-Americans whose relatives have been maimed or killed by illegal immigrants. #jointaddress: image via Reading The Pictures @ReadingThePix, 28 February 2017

Removing restraints from govt departments, not eliminating them? Megan? #jointaddress: image via Reading The Pictures @ReadingThePix, 28 February 2017

Barely looks to his right (Dem side) unless he’s lecturing, hectoring. #jointaddress: image via Reading The Pictures @ReadingThePix, 28 February 2017

Really favoring the left (GOP side) teleprompter. #jointaddress: image via Reading The Pictures @ReadingThePix, 28 February 2017

Something, something … legal immigration. #jointaddress: image via Reading The Pictures @ReadingThePix, 28 February 2017

Something, something, something, coal #jointaddress: image via Reading The Pictures @ReadingThePix, 28 February 2017

Will finishing that great wall between the two aisles. #jointaddress: image via Reading The Pictures @ReadingThePix, 28 February 2017

The new safety net. #jointaddress: image via Reading The Pictures @ReadingThePix, 28 February 2017

Gotta love Franken #jointaddress: image via Reading The Pictures @ReadingThePix, 28 February 2017

Donald and Melania black and white. Borrowing legitimacy? New Years Eve at Mar-a-lago?#jointaddress: image via Reading The Pictures @ReadingThePix, 28 February 2017

Blue boys. Spicy’s gum. #jointaddress: image via Reading The Pictures @ReadingThePix, 28 February 2017

NewseumVerified account @Newseum

Faces from the "REFUGEE" exhibit at the Newseum. On display through March 12.

Reading The Pictures Retweeted Newseum

Reading The Pictures added,

Refugees and witnesses.
image via Reading The Pictures @ReadingThePix, 28 February 2017

Jennifer JacobsVerified account @JenniferJJacobs

Trump speech excerpt:

Mike Memoli Retweeted Jennifer Jacobs
Mike Memoli added,

Punctuation matters

image via Miike Memoli @mikememoli, 28 February 2017

Kellyanne Conway tells @LouDobbs of @FoxBusiness: "I certainly meant no disrespect. I didn’t mean to have my feet on the couch.”: image via Celeste Katz @CelesteKatzNYC, 28 February 2017

Alarm bells ring for charities as Trump pledges to ax foreign aid budget: image via CNN International @cnni, 28 February 2017

Ever a showman, Donald Trump keeps Washington guessing @peterbakernyt @maggienyt: image via NYT Politics @nytpolitics, 28 February 2017

UPDATE: Length of Presidents' first address to #JointSession of Congress. President Trump spoke for one hour and 12 seconds. #JointAddress: image via CSPAN @cspan, 28 February 2017

Commerce Sec. Wilbur Ross wore $600 slippers by Palm Beach @Stubbs_Wootton, with a custom Commerce Dept logo, to Trump’s speech tonight.: image via Christina Wilkie @christinawilkie, 28 February 2017

Democratic women wearing white, a color of the women's suffrage movement: image via Jennifer Epstein @jeneps, 28 February 2017

In nod to suffrage movement, Democratic women lawmakers wearing white to Pres. Trump's address to Congress tonight.: image via NBC Nightly News @NBCNightlyNews, 28 February 2017

Young #migrants survive on their own in Serbia: A photo essay by @AssociatedPress photographer @Muheisen81: image via Eric Bandy @ericfbandy, 22 February 2017

Young migrants survive on their own in Serbia: Muhammad Muheisen/AP Photos, 22 February 2017

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — In an abandoned warehouse in the Serbian capital of Belgrade, Rasool, a 12-year-old from Jalalabad, Afghanistan, has spent the last six months sleeping on the ground, warming himself by fires, showering with cold water and eating meals distributed by aid groups.

"This place is so cold and dirty, the smoke from burning fires hurts my eyes and lungs," he said. "I close my eyes every night and open them in the morning wishing to hear from my elder friends that the border is open and leave to be with my cousins in London."

He's among dozens of minors, mostly from Afghanistan and Pakistan, living in the warehouse with hundreds of other, older migrants. Their parents sent them alone to Europe in search of better futures, but they have been stuck in Serbia, unable to cross the heavily guarded borders of neighboring EU nations Croatia and Hungary.

Governments along the so-called Balkan migration route last year closed down their borders as part of efforts to stem a huge influx of migrants. Previously, people arrived by boat or land from Turkey, then could walk or take trains or buses and cross borders freely from eastern Europe to destinations in western Europe.

Since borders closed last March, thousands of migrants have been stranded in Serbia, waiting for them to reopen or trying to scrape together enough money to pay smugglers to take them.

Rasool says his mother and father supported his efforts to leave Afghanistan because the Taliban made it unsafe and he wanted to study and have a peaceful life.

"I miss my parents so much," he said.

Liaqat, a 12-year-old from Khogyani, Afghanistan, said he left nine months ago, traveling to Pakistan and then on through Iran, Turkey and Bulgaria before arriving in Serbia. He and three new friends do everything together, and he's learned how to cook.

"If we don't cook ourselves we will be hungry," he said, stirring rice, potatoes and onions over the fire. "I am hoping to reach Belgium if they open the border, a beautiful country where I can be safe, study and become a doctor to help people."

Caesar, a 16-year old from Pakistan's tribal area of Bajaur, offered the daily Muslim afternoon prayer at the spot where he sleeps in the warehouse, then talked about how the minors on their own help take care of each other, with the older ones guiding the younger ones.

"It is difficult to live under these circumstances but still safer than hometowns here we live in fear for our lives," he said.

Muhammed Muheisen is The Associated Press' chief photographer for the Middle East, Pakistan and Afghanistan and a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner.
___

Amber Bracken @Amber_Bracken

Police finally came towards camp today and went after media on Hwy 1806 first. I was forced out. #StandingRock#FreedomOfThePress

Kevin Frayer Retweeted Amber Bracken

Kevin Frayer added,

Remove the witnesses first. This is a photojournalist working in Donald Trump's America. Not in Iran, NK, Egypt, Turkey, Russia, China...

tweet via Kevin Frayer @kevinfrayer, 22 February 2017

Amber Bracken @Amber_Bracken

A man watches his home burn. He lit it up in ceremony to save it from the bulldozers.
Kevin Frayer Retweeted Amber Bracken

Kevin Frayer added,
Follow @AmberBracken at Standing Rock where police are preparing to evict protesters on an executive order from Donald Trump. #dapl #trump

A wigwam goes up in ceremonial flames on the eve of an eviction by army corp of engineers.: image via Amber Bracken @Amber_Bracken, 21 February 2017

Eyewitness - Chinese workers take a break after a light snowfall on the Great Wall near Beijing. @guardian @guardianphotos @GettyImagesNews: image via Kevin Frayer @kevinfrayer, 23 February 2017

In the limo, one last look at the speech

And @SpeakerRyan gavels the Joint Session of Congress to a close.: image via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017

Hard to think of a public event more presidential than an Address to a Joint Session of Congress.: image via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017

Signs an autograph.: image via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017

On the way out of the Chamber, shakes hands with Chief Justice, and with members of his Cabinet.: image via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017

Also recognizes Carryn Owens, widow of US Navy SEAL Senior Chief William "Ryan" Owens, who died "a hero" in raid in Yemen.: image via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017

Only Republicans stand as Pres Trump says "we will soon begin the construction of a great great wall along our southern border.": image via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017

Some groans audible in the House Chamber as he announces program to serve victims of immigration crime.: tweet via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017

Pres Trump reporting on his first 40 days in office, citing efforts to reduce government regulations: eliminating 2 for every new 1.: image via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017

Some grumbling in the House Chamber as Pres Trump declares, "We have begun to drain the swamp of government corruption...": tweet via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017

And a second standing ovation as @SpeakerRyan formally presents the president to the Joint Session of Congress.: image via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017

An extended standing ovation for the president as he takes his place on the rostrum.: image via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017

And at 9:04pm/ET, Pres Trump is announced into the House Chamber by the Sergeant-at-Arms, Paul Irving.: image via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017

Members of the president's Cabinet (except one - designated survivor) escorted to their seats.: image via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017

The First Lady and other members of the president's family getting a standing ovation as they arrive in the Gallery.: image via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017

Checking out guests in the gallery.: image via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017

Would like to know what Pence and Ryan are saying now.: image via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017

On the rostrum, @VP and @SpeakerRyan, having amusing chat waiting for members and guests to be introduced and take their seats in House Chamber.: image via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017

In the limo, looks like Pres Trump giving his speech one last look before delivering it to a Joint Session of Congress.: image via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017

Pres and Mrs Trump emerge from South Portico to board limo for motorcade to the Capitol.: image via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017

Senior Advisor Steve Bannon waiting at "The Beast" for Pres and Mrs Trump to emerge from WH for ride to the Capitol.: image via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017

"Looking forward to it," said Pres Trump, asked about his first Address to Congress tonight. (TV Pool photo by @jonkarl1): image via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017

Then back in the Oval Office, Pres Trump signed another Exec Order he says will make HBCUs "an absolute priority" in the WH.: image via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017: image via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017

Then in Roosevelt Room, Pres Trump signs Executive Order to review EPA jurisdiction in water regulation. He calls it a "power grab.": image via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017: image via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017

Double thumbs up from Pres Trump during 17-sec photo-op in East Room with National Assn of Attorneys General. "Called them "great people.": image via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017

In remarks at swearing-in, @VP hailed Wilbur Ross for "first hand experience in the building blocks of the American economy.": image via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017

VP Pence administers oath of office to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. Senate confirmed yesterday 72-27.: image via Mark Knoller @markknoller, 28 February 2017

Apotheosis of the Titans