Laura Solla weeps as she places flowers near the memorial site for victims of the collapsed 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building on July 8 in Surfside, Florida. At that time, the death toll was at 60 -- and 80 people were still missing. Rescue workers were starting to shift the operation to recovery efforts. (Anna Moneymaker, Getty Images)
What a year 2021 has been.
Between the inauguration, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic -- and a slew of variants that our world is still dealing with -- the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the 20-year anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, plenty of natural disasters and more, the past year has been loaded with action.
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These 25 photos, all from Getty Images, help tell the story of 2021.
In no particular order, here they are:
Genview Diagnosis medical assistants Crystal Leyva, at left, and Keitia Perez administer COVID-19 sampling tests to laboratory technicians on Aug. 13 in Houston. Across the Houston metropolitan area at that time, testing had significantly increased as the Delta variant overwhelmed hospitals, and schools and businesses continued to reopen. Houston saw an increase of Delta infections, and research showed the Delta variant to be 60% more contagious than its predecessor the Alpha variant, also known as COVID-19. (Getty Images)The U.S. Supreme Court is seen through a damaged entrance of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 7 in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Congress had just finished the certification for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ electoral college win after pro-Trump mobs stormed the Capitol and temporarily stopped the process. (Getty Images)A protester is seen hanging from the balcony in the Senate Chamber on Jan. 6 in Washington, D.C. Congress held a joint session to ratify President Joe Biden's 306-232 Electoral College win over President Donald Trump. Pro-Trump protesters entered the U.S. Capitol building after mass demonstrations in the nation's capital. (Getty Images)President Joe Biden fist bumps newly sworn-in Vice President Kamala Harris after she took the oath of office on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20. Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States. (Getty Images)Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman speaks during the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20 in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)A chairlift at Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort is seen sitting idle as the Caldor Fire moves through the area on Aug. 30 in Twin Bridges, California. At that time, the Caldor Fire had burned more than 165,000 acres, destroyed about 650 structures and was only about 13% contained. (Getty Images)Haitian immigrants cross the Rio Grande back into Mexico from Del Rio, Texas on Sept. 20 to Ciudad Acuna, Mexico. As U.S. immigration authorities began deporting immigrants back to Haiti from Del Rio, thousands more waited in a camp under an international bridge in Del Rio while others crossed the river back into Mexico to avoid deportation. (Getty Images)Protesters test molotov cocktails on March 16 in Yangon, Myanmar. Myanmar's military Junta charged deposed de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi with accepting bribes and taking illegal payments in gold, as it also continued a brutal crackdown on a nationwide civil disobedience movement in which thousands of people have turned out in continued defiance of tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition. (Getty Images)Workers remove the statue of Robert E. Lee at the Marcus-David Peters circle prior to its removal on Sept. 8 in Richmond, Virginia. The Commonwealth of Virginia was, at that time, in the process of removing the largest Confederate statue remaining in the U.S., following authorization by all three branches of state government, including a unanimous decision by the Supreme Court of Virginia. (Getty Images)Father Arbuey Wright, at left, and mother Katie Wright, second from left, give remarks alongside sister Diamond Wright and Rev. Al Sharpton during a funeral held for Daunte Wright on April 22 in Minneapolis. Daunte Wright was shot and killed by police during a traffic stop, which sparked days of protests. (Getty Images)The "Tribute In Light" shines up from Lower Manhattan on Sept. 11 in New York City. The nation was marking the 20th anniversary of the terror attacks from 2001, when the group al-Qaeda flew hijacked airplanes into the World Trade Center, Shanksville, Penn., and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people. (Getty Images)A member of the far-right group the Proud Boys and a left-wing counter protester fight in a truck on Aug. 22 in Portland, Oregon. The Proud Boys and other far-right extremists fought with anti-fascist activists in Portland on the anniversary of a similar fight in 2020. (Getty Images)A car drives through an empty street in the neighborhood of La Laguna as lava flows from the Cumbre Vieja Volcano on Oct. 9 in La Palma, Spain. The Cumbre Vieja Volcano erupted on Sept. 19, shutting down the airport twice due to the volcanic ash. The numerous lava flows destroyed hundreds of hectares, but also formed peninsulas of volcanic rock, extending the surface of the island. (Getty Images)Here's an aerial view of the scene after an elevated section of metro track in Mexico City, carrying train cars with passengers, collapsed onto a busy road on May 3. The Line 12 accident happened as the metro train was traveling between the Olivos and Tezonco Metro stations, killing at least 20 people and injuring 70 more. (Getty Images)Supporters of pop star Britney Spears participate in a #FreeBritney rally at the Lincoln memorial on July 14 in Washington, D.C. The group was calling for an end to the 13-year conservatorship lead by the singer's father, Jamie Spears, along with Jodi Montgomery, who had control over her finances and business dealings. Planned co-conservator Bessemer Trust was petitioning the court to resign from its position after Britney Spears spoke out in court about the conservatorship. (Getty Images)In this aerial view, the Fargradalsfjall volcano spews molten lava on Aug. 19 near Grindavik, Iceland. Iceland is feeling a strong impact from global warming. While the volcano, which erupted in March of this year, lies in the volcanic lowlands southwest of Reykjavik, other Icelandic volcanoes lie under the island's large ice caps, such Eyjafjallajokull, which erupted in 2010. Since the 1990s, 90% of Iceland's glaciers have been retreating -- and projections for the future show a continued and strong retreat in size of its three ice caps. The reduction in mass and pressure from the melting ice caps is increasing the likelihood of further seismic and volcanic activity. (Getty Images)Displaced Afghan families head into Kabul from the northern provinces, desperately leaving their homes behind on Aug. 10. The Taliban has taken control of six provincial capitals, among other towns and trade routes, since the United States accelerated withdrawal of its forces this year. Afghan families from Kunduz, Takhar and Baghlan provinces arrived in Kabul in greater numbers, fleeing the Taliban advance. (Getty Images)Jamie Cooper Jr., left, with his mother Dana Roberts and sister, Johneya Beckham, react as they listen to guilty verdicts for the defendants in the trial of the killers of Ahmaud Arbery on Nov. 24 in Brunswick, Georgia. Greg McMichael, his son Travis McMichael, and a neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan, were found guilty in the February 2020 fatal shooting of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery. (Getty Images)The inside of a damaged home is seen on Dec. 14 in Mayfield, Kentucky. Multiple tornadoes struck several Midwest states on Dec. 10, causing widespread destruction and multiple casualties. (Getty Images)Search-and-rescue personnel use a crane to remove a stretcher from the rubble of the partially collapsed 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building on June 28 in Surfside, Florida. (Getty Images)People wade through water on Aug. 31 in Barataria, Louisiana. Many shops, stores, and services were closed at that time as power throughout New Orleans and its surrounding region was down. Ida made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on Aug. 29 in Louisiana and brought flooding and wind damage along the Gulf Coast. (Getty Images)People embrace after hearing the sentencing of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on June 25 in Minneapolis. Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison after being convicted of murder in the death of George Floyd. (Getty Images)A sign is displayed in the window of a business to show support for Oxford High School on Dec. 7 in Oxford, Michigan. Tate Myre was one of four students killed and seven others injured on Nov. 30, when another student allegedly opened fire at the school. (Getty Images)Here, you see the tall, bleached "bathtub ring," which is visible on the rocky banks of Lake Powell at Reflection Canyon on June 24 in Utah. As a severe drought situation was gripping parts of the Western United States, a below average flow of water was expected to flow through the Colorado River Basin into two of its biggest reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead. At that time, Lake Powell was at 34.56% of capacity, a historic low. The lake stood at 138.91 feet below full pool, and had dropped 44 feet in the past year. The Colorado River Basin supplies water to 40 million people in seven western states. (Getty Images)Patients infected with COVID-19 are seen wearing oxygen masks as free oxygen was supplied as a part of public service for the people in need by a Gurdwara or a Sikh Holy place, amid the rising concerns over lack of oxygen on April 24 in New Delhi, India. With recorded cases crossing 300,000 a day, India had more than 2 million active cases of COVID-19, the second-highest number in the world after the U.S. A new wave of the pandemic overwhelmed the country's health care services and caused crematoriums to operate day and night as the number of victims continued to spiral. (Getty Images)
Looking back on this year, what headlines will you remember the most? Let us know in the comments below.
