Libya, Part 1. "It was confirmed this week that South African photojournalist Anton Hammerl was killed on April 5 by Libyan government soldiers. This photograph of Libyan rebel fighters near the city of Brega, published in the New York Times’s “Lens” blog on May 19, was one of the last he took. Hammerl was traveling with journalists Clare Gillis and James Foley when Qaddafi’s soldiers launched an attack on the rebels. Gillis and Foley saw Hammerl fall moments before they were taken prisoner. After their release on May 18 they broke the news to Hammerl’s family, and then the media." Photo by Anton Hammerl “Lens,” New York Times

Libya, Part 2 "The conflict between rebels and Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s forces continued over the week, bringing worries of a lingering stalemate. NATO forces began more concentrated bombing of Qaddafi’s command center in Tripoli to dislodge the dictator, and rebels continued to build an army. Here, rebel recruits train at an obstacle course in Benghazi. " Photo by Mohammed Salem/Reuters. Time

Afghanistan "Creeping with the enemy: A United State Marine checks the handcuffs on a prisoner being held at a base in Helmand Province. Twelve suspected enemy fighters were rounded up in a morning operation that produced visual symmetry, if not military progress. " Photo by Massoud Hossaini/AFP. “Lens,” New York Times

Missouri, Part 1 "On Sunday, a monster tornado struck Joplin, Missouri, killing more than 120 people. This shot was taken on May 22, just after one of the dead was found in a mangled car, illuminated here in the right of the frame. Standing in a wedge of light at the center, under a dark storm-laden sky, are the emergency workers who discovered the body. It might be an Edward Hopper painting of hell." Photo Charlie Riedel/AP. “Big Picture,” Boston Globe

Missouri, Part 2 "The killer storm ripped apart areas of Joplin, a city of 50,000, leaving behind ruins and the fear of more menace from the sky as fresh lines of thunderstorms continued to rumble across the American Midwest. In this shot, a shelf cloud containing a thunderstorm approaches a ravaged Joplin neighborhood." Photo by Charlie Riedel,/AP. “Big Picture,” Boston Globe

Missouri, Part 3 "In another Joplin neighborhood, a man walks through wreckage with a salvaged guitar. Charlie Riedel’s picture places this evidence of the sustaining human spirit against a backdrop of nature’s unyielding power." Photo by Charlie Ridel/AP. “Lens,” New York Times

Iceland "The spectacle of nature’s might seems to satisfy a human need to be humbled: This shot of Iceland’s Grimsvotn volcano, which began erupting on May 21, is both beautiful and awful. In one hour, the volcano sent ash and smoke nearly seven miles into the sky. The plume later soared to 65,000 feet and began drifting toward Europe, forcing the President of the United States, nominally the most powerful man in the world, to cut short a visit to Ireland." Photo from STR/AFP/Getty Images. “In Focus,” The Atlantic

Ireland "The week before President Barack Obama’s trip to the Republic of Ireland—he and First Lady Michelle Obama were photographed downing pints of Guinness to celebrate his Irish heritage—the nation was visited by another head of state, Queen Elizabeth II. In this photo, which juxtaposes old and new, the queen arrives by helicopter at Cashel County Tipperary to see the historically important Rock of Cashel Monument. Despite a history of enmity between Ireland and Great Briton, the queen was greeted with affection during her four-day Irish sojourn. Some locals even took to calling her “Betty.” ." Photo by Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty Images. USA Today

China "A local official in Changchun, China, grabs a 22-year-old woman after she jumped out of a seven-story residential building on May 17. According to reports, the woman had been jilted by her boyfriend of four years as they were making wedding plans. " Photo from Reuters/China Daily. “In Focus,” The Atlantic

Hollywood "Fallout was swift following the disclosure this week that Arnold Schwarzenegger had fathered a child by a former member of his household staff. The media jumped into action, staking out the home of Schwarzenegger’s baby-mama, and there was speculation about the financial impact a divorce would have on California’s former governor. (One newspaper caught the spirit of the moment with the headline “Arnold: I’ll Be Broke.”) Even worse, for those who spent the past decade waiting for another Terminator movie, was the news that Schwarzenegger has put his movie-comeback on hold. Photographer Mark Rolston wisely underscored the cultural impact of the scandal with a shot of Schwarzenegger’s fallen star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame." Photo by Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images. “Framework,” Los Angeles Times

Coming Attractions, Part 1 "In the June issue of W magazine, two better-behaved Hollywood superstars of a certain age showed that old-fashioned movie glamour is alive and well. Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks, stars of the new film Larry Crown, performed exquisitely for photographer Mario Sorrenti. " Photo by Mario Sorrenti. W, June 2011

Coming Attractions, Part 2 "Speaking of old-fashioned: Photographer Sam Jones relied on one of Hollywood’s time-honored sight gags—forced perspective—to create this shot of actors Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper, and Ed Helms, stars of The Hangover II. " Photos by Sam Jones. Entertainment Weekly, May 20, 2011

Faces "For a story about a singing contest sponsored by New York City’s Metropolitan Opera, photographic great Lee Friedlander documented the faces of the competitors in the throes of effort. America has talent, and it’s booming." Photo by Lee Friedlander. The New York Times Magazine, May 22

Cover Story "Is this any way to treat a First Lady? The model political wife on the cover of Newsweek has been rendered anonymous with a logo, but it certainly appears to be Callista Gingrinch, the third and current wife of U.S. presidential candidate Newt Gingrinch. The editorial treatment may be seen as an act of sympathy or as act of subversion, depending on your gender and politics. Perhaps it illustrates the increasingly complex and important role of the modern political soul mate. Or perhaps it brazenly quantifies the shallowness of that role." Photo Illustration by Michael Elins. Newsweek, May 23 and 30