The most powerful photos of the year, so far

Beginning in September 2019, the bushfires razed over 27 million acres of land and killed at least 1 billion animals. By January 2020, New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian called for a third state of emergency.

The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers, 31-20.

During the high-energy halftime show, Shakira and Jennifer Lopez were joined on stage by Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny and Colombian singer J Balvin. Latinx and Spanish-speaking fans celebrated the show as a "triumph of representation," Insider reported at the time.

Pelosi told reporters that she ripped up the speech because "it was the courteous thing to do considering the alternatives." She also broke tradition by introducing Trump only as the "president of the United States," forgoing the customary phrase that she had the "high privilege and distinct honor" of introducing him.

In November 2019, Trump became the third president in the history of the United States to be impeached. He was charged with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and the Republican-controlled Senate cleared him of both charges.

Bryant spent his 20-season career entirely with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was the third all-time scorer in the NBA and won five NBA championships.

He died along with his daughter and seven others on January 26.

He also hugged and kissed the flag in 2019, and the moment was mocked on "Saturday Night Live."

After the incident, Joe Biden joked, "I'm probably the only candidate running for president whose wife is my Secret Service."

Royal photographer Samir Hussein captured a perfectly timed photo of the couple as they attended the Endeavour Fund Awards.

"It was pouring down with rain, which can be very tricky when shooting flash photography and also meant Harry and Meghan would be under an umbrella, which usually means it's hard to get clean photos of the couple," Hussein shared a statement with British GQ magazine. "Little did I know these elements would come together so spectacularly to produce a timeless image of the couple."

Italy was the first country to implement a nationwide lockdown on March 10 after it became the second-worst hit country by the virus besides China.

Across the world, toilet paper shelves emptied as people stocked up for what felt like an impending apocalypse.

Experts told CNN that panic-buying could be a response to a feeling of lost control over the coronavirus, or a lack of clear direction from authorities.

The applause became a daily occurence at 7 p.m. in New York City, which was the epicenter of the pandemic in the US in the spring.

Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in November that Trump has ignored his advice and not met with him in over a month. Trump threatened to fire Fauci days before the election.

Outdoor, socially distanced activities are lower risk than gathering indoors.

Protests were held across the US, as well as in the UK, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Canada, and more.

Over 250,000 people have died of COVID-19 in the US, as of November.

Phase 4 allowed outdoor arts and entertainment, sporting events without fans, and media productions. Broadway shows remain closed until May 2021.

The back-to-school season varied across the US. Some schools returned to in-person classes with masks and social distancing, while others remained fully remote.

Justice Ginsburg died at age 87 due to complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer, according to an announcement from the Supreme Court.

Barrett was confirmed eight days before Election Day, replacing the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat on the court.

Harris' facial expressions throughout the debate and reactions to the interruptions quickly became meme fodder on social media.

Trump was diagnosed with COVID-19 on October 2 and hospitalized for three nights at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he was treated with experimental drugs.

Wildfires in California burned more than 4 million acres (6,250 square miles) in 2020, breaking the record for the most acres burned in a year.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said there would be a number of reforms in response to the incident, Insider's Yelena Dzhanova reported. All officers will undergo a training in crisis intervention by fall of 2021, and the police department is implementing "a decision tree or a set of questions" geared "to help us identify those in crisis if they don't offer that information to us voluntarily," she said.

As the coronavirus pandemic worsens around the world, healthcare workers are working harder than ever.

"Even before media outlets called the 2020 presidential election for President-elect Joe Biden, President Donald Trump and his campaign were gearing up for a fight," wrote Insider's Jacob Shamsian.

Patient Nazzareno Santilli was breathing under oxygen CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) headgear ventilation as he spoke to Dr. Elisabetta Teti in the sub-intensive COVID-19 unit of the Tor Vergata Polyclinic Hospital in Rome.

Biden won 290 electoral votes to Trump's 232. Trump has still refused to concede.

The care home built the special "hug room" to keep both parties safe from coronavirus infection.

England went into a second lockdown on November 5 with restrictions on non-essential travel.

Experts say that the pandemic will likely change air travel going forward, with mask requirements and temperature screening becoming the norm.