Best pictures from December 20
A local resident clears snow from his driveway after an overnight snowfall left many schools and businesses closed for the day in Urbandale, Iowa.Charlie Neibergall/The Associated Press
A female protestor displays her hand painted with Yemen's flag and Arabic writing that reads, "finally!" during a rally to show support for president Abed Rabbu Mansour Hadi, in Sanaa, Yemen.Hani Mohammed/The Associated Press
A young Indian boy passes through morning fog on the outskirts of Jammu, India. A cold wave has gripped large parts of northern India.Channi Anand/The Associated Press
A man is "cleansed" with candles next to a sacred fire during the pre-Hispanic mass of "Segunda Conexion" (Second Connection) to commemorate the 13th bak'tun, an epoch lasting roughly 400 years, outside the Chi Ixim church in Tactic, Alta Verapaz region. On December 2, an era closes in the Maya Long Count calendar, an event that has been likened by different groups to the end of days, the start of a new, more spiritual age or a good reason to hang out at old Maya temples across Mexico and Central America. The Chi Ixim church is a sacred Mayan site.JORGE DAN LOPEZ/Reuters
Palestinians surround a cart carrying a wooden statue of baby Jesus before a march in the West Bank town of Bethlehem ahead of Christmas.MOHAMAD TOROKMAN/Reuters
A policeman of the Peacekeeping Police Unit (UPP) gives the finishing touch to the costume of a colleague dressed up as Santa Claus in Rio de Janeiro's military police colours, before a Christmas party at Macacos slum in Rio de Janeiro.RICARDO MORAES/Reuters
Window cleaners dressed as Santa Claus work during an event promoting Christmas at a hotel in the business district of Tokyo.KIM KYUNG-HOON/Reuters
A 14-foot Christmas tree appears to be crashing through the roof of a one-story house in Seattle's Magnolia neighborhood. Homeowner Patrick Kruger created the illusion of the tree crashing through the roof by cutting a 14-foot tree into two pieces and attaching the top six-foot section is to a piece of plywood that's bolted to the roof. According to MyNorthwest.com, Kruger, who is an architect, studied the physics of an object breaking through a roof then added sheathing and typical roof construction materials to create the effect.Elaine Thompson/The Associated Press
The casket of Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI) lays in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington. U.S. Democratic Senator Inouye of Hawaii, a decorated veteran of World War Two and one of the longest-serving members of Congress, died on Monday at the age of 88.JOSHUA ROBERTS/Reuters