Getty Images' 100 Most Powerful News Photos of 2025 — 30 Defining Images

Getty Images curated a selection of the 100 most powerful news photographs captured by its photojournalists in 2025 — a year marked by relentless breaking news: wildfires, deadly crashes, political upheaval, natural disasters, and high‑profile global events. Sandy Ciric, senior director of news photography at Getty Images, described the cycle as "unrelenting," noting that photographers documented moments ranging from the death of a former U.S. president to pandemic‑era aftershocks, migration crises, and large‑scale protests.

30 standout images from the collection

Jan 8: The casket of former President Jimmy Carter lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda the day before his funeral. Carter died at 100 in Plains, Georgia; he served as president from 1977 to 1981.

Jan 15: An aerial photo showed beachfront homes in Malibu destroyed by the Palisades Fire. Multiple wildfires across Los Angeles County, driven by powerful winds, caused widespread destruction.

Jan 22: Firefighters battled the Hughes Fire in Castaic, California, as January wildfires burned more than 40,000 acres and claimed dozens of lives.

Jan 30: An American Airlines jet collided with a military helicopter over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport; all 67 people aboard both aircraft were killed.

Feb 7: A worker removed signage from the headquarters of the U.S. Agency for International Development after it was shut down by the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency amid a wave of agency cuts and layoffs.

Feb 11: Elon Musk visited the Oval Office with his son as President Trump signed an executive order implementing a high‑profile workforce initiative tied to technology sector priorities.

Feb 28: A tense White House meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ended without a minerals agreement after a heated exchange in the Oval Office.

Mar 4: As President Trump arrived to address a joint session of Congress, Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury and other lawmakers displayed protest signs reading messages such as "This is not normal," "False," and "Protect veterans."

Mar 31: SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 Fram2 mission from Kennedy Space Center, carrying four space tourists on a short low‑orbit flight.

May 6: An exhausted airline employee was photographed at Newark Liberty International Airport amid multi‑day travel disruptions caused by air‑traffic control staffing shortages and radar outages.

May 11: Following the death of Pope Francis, Pope Leo XIV — the first U.S.‑born pontiff — was elected in Vatican City.

May 18: A woman stood in the ruins of her home in London, Kentucky, a day after a tornado; at least 25 people were reported dead from the storm.

Jun 7: Protesters clashed with U.S. Border Patrol officers in Paramount, California, during immigration raids carried out across Southern California.

Jun: In response to unrest in Los Angeles, President Trump ordered 2,000 National Guard members into the area to assist federal operations, escalating tensions with California leadership.

Jun 14: The U.S. Army celebrated its 250th anniversary with a military parade in Washington, D.C., featuring hundreds of vehicles, aircraft, and thousands of troops.

Jun 24: The USS Gerald R. Ford — the U.S. Navy's largest aircraft carrier — deployed to Europe amid heightened tensions in the Middle East.

Jul 2: During a record heat wave in Berlin, where temperatures exceeded 40°C (104°F), a woman was photographed pouring water over her head to cool down.

Jul 6: A girl stood inside her aunt's home in Center Point, Texas, after the Guadalupe River surged following torrential rains. Central Texas flooding killed dozens, including children at a summer camp, when the river rose dramatically in minutes.

Jul 21: Ukrainian troops conducted a medical evacuation across the front line in an armored infantry fighting vehicle; one striking image of the 505th Separate Marine Battalion was captured with infrared equipment.

Jul 24: Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were photographed detaining a man after an immigration court hearing in New York City amid increased enforcement in sanctuary cities.

Aug 6: The Royal Jordanian Air Force performed an airdrop of humanitarian aid over Gaza, a stark image highlighting widespread destruction; U.N. assessments later reported extensive damage to infrastructure in the territory.

Aug 7: Zohran Mamdani appeared at a press conference months before winning the New York City mayoral race; he defeated a field that included high‑profile former and current officials.

Aug 13: A fishing boat was photographed in Kochi, India, as the U.S. announced a significant tariff on some imports from India — a move expected to affect seafood prices and trade flows.

Aug 15: President Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska to discuss the war in Ukraine; a memorable photo showed Trump escorting Putin near the presidential limousine known as "The Beast."

Aug 25: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth joined the president in the Oval Office as several executive orders were signed, including measures affecting criminal‑justice procedures and public demonstrations.

Sep 10–13: A shooting at a university event in Utah left conservative activist Charlie Kirk dead; a memorial billboard appeared in Orem in the days that followed.

Sep 15: Anti‑corruption protests in Kathmandu left the former Department of Roads building charred as demonstrators — largely young activists — challenged corruption, nepotism, and restrictions on online speech.

Sep 30: Senior military leaders were called to Washington, D.C., where public remarks by Secretary Hegseth criticized what he described as declining fitness and so‑called "woke" policies in the armed forces.

Oct 13: As part of a ceasefire agreement, Israeli hostages were released from Gaza. One former captive, held for more than two years, was photographed raising his fist aboard a helicopter en route to medical care.

Oct 19: Thieves broke into the Louvre's Galerie d'Apollon and stole historic jewelry belonging to Napoleon and Empress Eugénie; investigators later charged four suspects in the audacious robbery.

Oct 23: Photographs showed demolition work on the East Wing of the White House to make way for a new 90,000‑square‑foot ballroom, a high‑cost renovation that drew public attention and debate.

These 30 images represent a cross‑section of the broader 100‑photo collection, each frame reflecting major stories and human moments that defined 2025.