The year 2025 was one of separation: Families were pulled apart as the Trump administration sent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents into cities across the country to deport community members. Thousands of people in Gaza were killed as Israel continued to pummel the enclaves and cut off access to food and water. Natural disasters — including the Palisades and Eaton wildfires in Los Angeles, floods in Texas and Southeast Asia, Hurricane Melissa in the Caribbean and a tornado in Kentucky — caused the loss of friends, family, homes and memories. Tariffs levied by the White House on foreign goods followed by a government shutdown put basic needs out of reach for many families in the U.S.
Yet in the face of these challenges, communities rallied together. People celebrated when Palestinians and Israelis were finally freed after a ceasefire deal. Food banks fed their neighbors even after the Trump administration cut funding to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Americans took to the streets and demonstrated against the actions of the current administration in a series of “No Kings” and “Hands Off” protests.
From the heart-wrenching to the uplifting, photojournalists around the world braved extraordinary conditions to bear witness and ensure no story went unseen.
Editor’s note: This gallery contains some graphic images.
A person uses a garden hose in an effort to save a neighboring home from catching fire during the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, on Jan. 8.
Donald Trump arrives for his inauguration in the Capitol Rotunda on Jan. 20.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures during the inaugural parade inside Capitol One Arena in Washington on Jan. 20.
Kendrick Lamar performs at halftime of the Super Bowl at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Feb. 9.
President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on Feb. 28.
A family gathers food in the community pantry at the Central Texas Food Bank in Austin, Texas, on March 26.
Cardinals pay their respects to Pope Francis inside St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City on April 23.
Rescuers and civilians work to pull victims from the rubble of a missile strike on a residential building that killed two people and injured 54 in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 24.
Pope Leo XIV walks in the Vatican before the Regina Coeli prayer in Vatican City on May 11.
Lesly Karen Cornett stands amid the debris after a tornado struck her house outside of London, Kentucky, on May 18.
Protesters carry a banner representing the Preamble to the Constitution during a “No Kings Day” demonstration in Los Angeles on June 14.
Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil marches with supporters during a rally in New York City on June 22, after he was released from ICE detention.
A search and rescue worker looks through debris for survivors or remains of people swept up in the flash flooding in Hunt, Texas, on July 6.
Sharon Osbourne mourns during the funeral ceremony of her late husband, Ozzy Osbourne, in Birmingham, U.K., on July 30.
A parent runs toward the Annunciation Church during a shooting that killed two children in Minneapolis on Aug. 27.
People attend a press conference and rally in support of the victims of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell outside the Capitol on Sept. 3.
A man carries a large cross near a makeshift memorial for Charlie Kirk outside of the Turning Point USA headquarters in Phoenix on Sept. 12. A federal immigration enforcement agent sprays Rev. David Black as he and other protesters demonstrate outside the ICE facility near Chicago on Sept. 19. A crosswalk signal backdropped by the Capitol on Oct. 1, the first day of the U.S. federal government shutdown. Reem Nasr holds her malnourished son, Nafez, inside their makeshift tent in the Nuseirat area of central Gaza on Oct. 4. Israelis gather outside the Reim military base near the border with Gaza to welcome the hostages following their release on Oct. 13. Buses carrying Palestinians released from Israeli prisons under a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal arrive outside the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, on Oct. 13. A resident of Playa Canizo hitchhikes to evacuate ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Melissa in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, on Oct. 28. New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani visits a cultural center for the elderly in New York City on Oct. 31. Former Rep. Liz Cheney walks past her father Dick Cheney’s casket at his funeral service at the National Cathedral in Washington on Nov. 20. Thick smoke and flames rise as fire engulfs several apartment blocks at the Wang Fuk Court residential estate in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district on Nov. 26. An aerial view of a home surrounded by flood waters in Kangar, Perlis, Malaysia, on Nov. 28, as severe flooding affected thousands following days of heavy rain. Community members form a line by the American Red Cross trucks following a vigil in Providence, Rhode Island, on Dec. 14, after a mass shooting at Brown University the day before left two dead. Family grieve at the coffin of Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a victim in the Bondi Beach mass shooting, during his funeral at a synagogue in Bondi, Sydney, Australia, on Dec. 17.
Emily Steinberger is a photo editor at MS NOW.
Zeina Zeitoun
Zeina Zeitoun is a Photo Editor at MS NOW. She was previously a Photo Editor for TODAY.com.
Pinar Istek is a Photo Editor at MS NOW.
Ben King is the Art Director for MS NOW Recommended
