Best in Show - 2022 Ukraine War Picture Story (Excerpt)This series chronicles the ongoing war in Ukraine. On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The invasion has likely resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides and caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II, with an estimated 8 million people being displaced within the country by late May as well as 7.6 million Ukrainians fleeing the country as of October 2022. The invasion has also caused global food shortages. Natali Sevriukova reacts next to her house following a rocket attack the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022.Emilio Morenatti / Associated Press

First Place - 2022 Best Portfolio (Excerpt)Ash from a volcano, that continues to erupt, covers a house on the Canary island of La Palma, Spain, Monday, Nov. 1, 2021. Scientists estimate the volcano also has ejected over 10,000 million cubic meters of ash. The ash is jettisoned thousands of meters into the sky, but the heaviest, thickest particles eventually give way to gravity. They accumulate into banks that slowly cover doors, pour into windows, make rooftops sag. Some particles are so big that when they pummel a car roof or the fronds of a banana tree, it sounds like hail.Emilio Morenatti / Associated Press

First Place - 2022 Rich Mahan Best Student Portfolio (Excerpt)Aaron King waits for his turn to do pad work at Zens Gym in Columbia, Mo., Monday, Jan. 31, 2022. King says he attributes his gym and its trainers for his recovery from alcoholism. They werenÕt why I started changing as a person, but they were a place where I was able to change, so I owe a lot of that to them.Minh Connors / University of Missouri

First Place - 2022 Ukraine War Ukrainian emergency employees and volunteers carry an injured pregnant woman from a maternity hospital that was damaged by shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine, March 9, 2022. The woman and her baby died after Russia bombed the maternity hospital where she was meant to give birth. Evginey Maloletka / Associated Press

Second Place - 2022 Ukraine War WAR CRIMES.investigators begin the grim task of pulling bodies from a mass grave behind the Church of St. Andrew and All Saints, while assessing evidence of war crimes during the Russian invasion in Bucha, Ukraine on April 11, 2022. Wreckage of war and bodies littered the streets of Bucha, recently liberated from invading Russian troops in the suburbs of Kyiv where atrocities have been reported. Carol Guzy

Honorable Mention - 2022 Ukraine War The bodies of village mayor Olga Sukhenko, her husband and son and that of a man believed to be a Ukrainian serviceman, who was not yet identified, lie in pit in the village of Motyzhyn, Ukraine, Sunday, April 3, 2022. The pit is situated behind a plot of land with three houses where Russian forces had slept and were entrenched. Vadim Ghirda / Associated Press

Third Place - 2022 Ukraine War Ukrainians crowd under a destroyed bridge as they try to flee by crossing the Irpin River on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 5, 2022. Emilio Morenatti / Associated Press

Honorable Mention - 2022 Ukraine War Yana Bachek is consoled by her partner Yevgeniy Vlasenko and her mother Lyubov Gubareva, as she mourns over the body of her father Victor Gubarev, 79, killed by shelling during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, April 18, 2022. Gubarev had been killed near his home by a shell fragment while he was out buying bread. Minutes after the explosion, Yana rushed to him and mourned over his body, with her mother and partner next to her. Alkis Konstantinidis / Reuters

First Place - 2022 Ukraine War Picture Story (Excerpt) Valentyna Volynets, 59, drinks tea made by her neighbour on a makeshift fire in a public garden near their building in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, on Monday, April 18, 2022. Citizens of Bucha are still without electricity, water and gas after more than 43 days since the Russian invasion began. Emilio Morenatti / Associated Press

Honorable Mention - 2022 Ukraine War Lifeless bodies of men, some with their hands tied behind their backs lie on the ground in Bucha, Ukraine, Sunday, April 3, 2022. Journalists in Bucha, a small city northwest of Kyiv, saw the bodies of at least nine people in civilian clothes who appeared to have been killed at close range. At least two had their hands tied behind their backs. Vadim Ghirda / Associated Press

Second Place - 2022 Ukraine War Picture Story (Excerpt) The siege of Mariupol was a military action in Ukraine during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, when forces from Russia and the separatist Donetsk People's Republic engaged Ukrainian forces in the city of Mariupol. The battle, which was part of the Russian Eastern Ukraine offensive, started on 24 February 2022 and concluded on 20 May 2022, when Russia announced the remaining Ukrainian forces in Mariupol surrendered after they were ordered to cease fighting. Mariupol is located in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, and is claimed by the Russian-backed separatist Donetsk People's Republic. Russian forces completely besieged the city on 2 March, after which they gradually gained control of the city. By 22 April, the remaining Ukrainian forces had retreated to the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works, a massive and highly defensible industrial complex. The Red Cross described the situation as "apocalyptic", and Ukrainian authorities have accused Russia of engineering a major humanitarian crisis in the city, with city officials reporting that about 21,000 civilians have been killed. Ukrainian officials also reported that at least 95% of the city has been destroyed during the fighting, largely by Russian bombardments. The siege ended on 16 May 2022, after what media outlets variously called the "evacuation" or "surrender" of the remaining Ukrainian personnel from the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works; the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the Ukrainians had "surrendered", a word Ukraine avoided using. An apartment building explodes after a Russian army tank fires in Mariupol, Ukraine, Friday, March 11, 2022. Evginey Maloletka / Associated Press

Third Place - 2022 Ukraine War Picture Story (Excerpt) The city of Bucha, next to Kyiv, will go down in history as one of the symbols of the atrocities perpetrated by Russian forces in the war against Ukraine. As the days go by after the withdrawal of Russian soldiers from the city, details of the executions, murders and abuses that took place during a month of occupation are emerging.This photo essay collects the sensations and images of the occuopation after the withdrawal of the Russian troops and during the days that followed: the stories of those who lived under the occupation reconstruct a scene of war crimes.In the image: The city of Bucha as seen from a nine-story building on Yablunska street, where most of the bodies were found. It was one of the many buildings occupied by Russian soldiers. From this window they controlled the civilian population. Santi Palacios / Associated Press

Honorable Mention - 2022 Ukraine War Picture Story (Excerpt) This series chronicles the ongoing war in Ukraine and its toll on the Ukrainian people. On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The invasion has likely resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides and caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II, with an estimated 8 million people being displaced within the country by late May as well as 7.6 million Ukrainians fleeing the country as of October 2022. The invasion has also caused global food shortages. Smoke rises after big explosions in Kharkiv, Ukraine, early Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. Francisco Seco / Associated Press

Honorable Mention - 2022 Ukraine War Picture Story (Excerpt) This series chronicles the ongoing war in Ukraine and its toll on the Ukrainian people. On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The invasion has likely resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides and caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II, with an estimated 8 million people being displaced within the country by late May as well as 7.6 million Ukrainians fleeing the country as of October 2022. The invasion has also caused global food shortages. A man recovers items from a burning shop following a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Friday, March 25, 2022. Felipe Dana / Associated Press

First Place - 2022 Spot News Sisters Julianna Sims, 21, and Natalie, 15 comfort each other while visiting the destroyed theater at the American Legion in Mayfield, Kentucky, U.S., December 18, 2021. Julianna, who has been away at college returned to her hometown this weekend and walked around sharing emotional memories with her sister. You take your hometown for granted because you think it will always be there, and now its not, she said. It looks like like the finger of God touched down on the Earth and left destruction in its wake." Cheney Orr

Second Place - 2022 Spot News In this aerial image taken with a drone, vehicles rest on a bridge following its collapse, Friday Jan. 28, 2022, in Pittsburgh. The bridge spanning a ravine collapsed, requiring rescuers to rappel nearly 150 feet, while others formed a human chain to help rescue multiple people from a dangling bus. The collapse early Friday came hours before President Joe Biden was to visit the city to press for his $1 trillion infrastructure bill, which includes bridge maintenance. Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press

Honorable Mention - 2022 Spot News A fallen tree in a graveyard after a devastating outbreak of tornadoes ripped through several U.S. states in Mayfield, Kentucky, U.S. December 17, 2021. Cheney Orr

Third Place - 2022 Spot News Flames engulf a chair inside a burning home as the Oak Fire burns in Mariposa County, Calif., on Saturday, July 23, 2022. Noah Berger / Associated Press

Honorable Mention - 2022 Spot News Protesters celebrate as they take pictures after storming the Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's office, demanding he resign after president Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country amid economic crisis in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, July 13, 2022. Rajapaksa fled on a military jet after angry protesters seized his home and office, and appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as acting president while he is overseas. Wickremesinghe quickly declared a nationwide state of emergency to counter swelling protests over the country's economic and political collapse. Rafiq Maqbool / Associated Press

First Place - 2022 General News Gianna Floyd, the daughter of George Floyd, looks at the executive order on policing that President Joe Biden signed in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Washington. The order comes on the second anniversary of George Floyd's death, and is focused on policing. Alex Brandon / Associated Press

Second Place - 2022 General News Migrants wait along a border wall Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022, after crossing from Mexico near Yuma, Ariz. Gregory Bull / Associated Press

Honorable Mention - 2022 General News Family members and relatives mourn near the body of Rafia Nazir, a young Kashmiri woman killed in grenade attack, during her funeral in Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir, Monday, March 7, 2022. At least two civilians were killed and nearly two dozen were injured when an assailant lobbed a grenade at a busy market in Srinagar on Sunday. Mukhtar Khan / Associated Press

Third Place - 2022 General News UVALDE, TEXAS - MAY 26: Mourners visit a memorial for victims of Tuesday's Robb Elementary School mass shooting in City of Uvalde Town Square on May 26, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. 19 children and two adults were killed on Tuesday during a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School after man entered the school through an unlocked door and barricaded himself in a classroom where the victims were located. Michael Santiago / Getty Images

Honorable Mention - 2022 General News Indian policemen detain a Kashmiri Shiite Muslim for participating in a religious procession during restrictions in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, Aug. 7, 2022. Mukhtar Khan / Associated Press

First Place - 2022 News Picture Story (Excerpt) Local residents walk past the scene of a train derailment after devastating outbreak of tornadoes ripped through several U.S. states in Earlington, Kentucky, U.S. December 11, 2021. Cheney Orr

Second Place - 2022 News Picture Story (Excerpt) FBI agents clear abandoned childrens bikes from the scene after a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Illinois, U.S., July 7, 2022. Cheney Orr

Third Place - 2022 News Picture Story (Excerpt) SUMMARY: Everyone wants a piece of Joe Manchin. As the Democratic Senator from West Virginia, Manchin has consistently held up the Biden agenda and been the deciding vote on legislation, while the Democrats hold a 50-50 majority in a largely partisan Senate. CAPTION: Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, arrives during a news conference about a bill to ban Russian energy imports, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, March 3, 2022. The White House is asking Congress for $32.5 billion in emergency funding to boost its response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and tackle the ongoing fight against the coronavirus. Al Drago

Honorable Mention - 2022 News Picture Story (Excerpt) SUMMARY: Ketanji Brown Jackson made history in 2022 when she became the first African-American woman confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court.CAPTION: Ketanji Brown Jackson, nominee for associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, speaks during an announcement ceremony with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. Jackson, 51, would be the first Black woman on the Supreme Court if confirmed and is a federal appeals court judge who once served as a public defender, a job no justice has ever held. Al Drago

Honorable Mention - 2022 News Picture Story (Excerpt) Tenants at the Seven Oaks Apartments, located on San Antonios West side (now renamed Colinas at Medical) have lived with mold caused by leaky roofs and plumbing, rats, cockroaches, nonfunctional laundry facilities billing problems and crime. Many tenants did not have working air-conditioning during a summer where temperatures were consistently in the triple digits.They said problems went unaddressed or got Band-Aid fixes only to reoccur soon after. With the help of Texas Organizing Project (TOP), tenants banded together to form a tenants union and demand changes together. They organized protests in Austin at the offices of the property owners offices, got the attention of city council to talk about changing laws in the city, all while continuing to live in deplorable conditions. Twonya Mondy (right) embraces her friend and neighbor, ZhiRia Cook after her apartment flooded July 24. Cook lost most of her belongings including her bed. Cook had complained to Seven Oaks management for months about leaks in the apartment but nothing was ever fixed properly. Both are residents at Seven Oaks and both have had many problems with their apartments that have not been fixed. Jessica Phelps / Newark Advocate

First Place - 2022 Chris Hondros Memorial International News (Excerpt) 7-month-old Samira Mohamed -who presents clear signs of malnutrition- is assessed by a nurse in a nutrition centre at Kabasa IDP camp in Doolow, Somalia on June 15, 2022. The Kabasa IDP camp in Doolow is growing quickly with many families displaced by drought coming to live thereThe worst drought in four decades in the Horn of Africa -with four consecutive periods of rain lost- has combined with a global rise in food and fuel prices, pushed up by the war in Ukraine, to hit millions across the region, putting food staples out of reach for poor families and killing crops and livestock.Up to 20 million people in the Horn of Africa are facing the risk of starvation by the end of this year, according to the World Food Program. The most devastating crisis is unfolding in Somalia, where about seven million people face acute food shortages. The drought crisis, the war in Ukraine, the fight against Al-Shabab and a highly volatile security situation with political tensions have created a combination without precedents for Somalia. Since January, at least 448 children have dided from severe acute malnutrition according to UNICEF. Luis Tato

Second Place - 2022 Chris Hondros Memorial International News (Excerpt) Haiti has been gripped by inflation, causing rising food and fuel prices, and exacerbating protests that have brought society to the breaking point. Daily life in Haiti began to spin out of control last month just hours after the prime minister said fuel subsidies would be eliminated, causing prices to double. Political instability in Latin Americas poorest country had simmered ever since last years still-unsolved assassination of Haitis president Jovenel Mose, who had faced opposition protests calling for his resignation over corruption charges and claims that his five-year term had ended. People run after clashes erupted during a protest against fuel price hikes and to demand that Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry step down, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. Odelyn Joseph / Associated Press

First Place - 2022 Sports Action LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 03: Riders race during the UCI Track Champions League Round 3 at Lee Valley Velopark Velodrome on December 03, 2021 in London, England. Ryan Pierse / Getty Images

Second Place - 2022 Sports Action Competitors in the women's 3000 meter steeplechase at the SEC Track and Field Championships leap through the water jump on May 13, 2022. Hannah grace Biggs / University of Mississippi (Student Media Center)

Honorable Mention - 2022 Sports Action Southern Lab Kittens Carl Williams, IV (2) loses his helmet after being tackled by Ouachita Christian Eagles Tate Hamby (13), Mason Minvielle (15), and Garrett Simmons (17) in the first half of the Division IV State Championship in the Superdome in New Orleans, Friday, Dec. 10, 2021. Matthew Hinton / Very Local New Orleans

Third Place - 2022 Sports Action Team Mexico perform during the mixed free combination program at the World Junior Artistic Swimming Championship on August 24, 2022 in Quebec City, Canada. Mathieu Belanger

Honorable Mention - 2022 Sports Action YANQING, CHINA - MARCH 07: Jingyi Liang of Team China competes in the Para Alpine Skiing Men's Super Combined Super-G Standing at Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre during day three of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics on March 07, 2022 in Yanqing, China. Ryan Pierse / Getty Images

First Place - 2022 Sports Feature Switzerland's players wait to take the ice for their quarter-final Women's Ice Hockey game against the Russian Olympic Committee team during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics at the Wukesong Sports Centre in Beijing, China, February 12, 2022. Brian Snyder / Reuters

Second Place - 2022 Sports Feature Players on the McQuaid Jesuit High School Knights Football Team (L to R: Jack Polito (6), Gavin Brownlie (83), Tim Flaherty (64), and Will Dimarco (80), relieve themselves before playing a game against the Pittsford Panthers at Ordiway Field at Pittsford Sutherland High School in Pittsford, N.Y. on Oct. 22, 2021. The Panthers upset the undefeated Knights, beating the team 31-21 after going on a 24-point run in the second quarter. Vincent Alban

Honorable Mention - 2022 Sports Feature LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 15: Aquabatix perform in the Sky Pool at Embassy Gardens on July 15, 2022 in London, England. The world famous Aquabatix team were cooling off on one of the hottest days of the year at Sky Pool, Embassy Gardens. Ryan Pierse / Getty Images

Third Place - 2022 Sports Feature An Eastern lubber grasshopper shows up at practice during day 9 of the Jaguars Training Camp Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022 at the Knight Sports Complex at Episcopal School of Jacksonville. Corey Perrine / Naples Daily News

Honorable Mention - 2022 Sports Feature The Spanish bullfighter Nek Romero in his hotel room before fighting in Colmenar Viejo (Madrid). Jordi Cohen

First Place - 2022 Sports Picture Story (Excerpt) Prince is training at a basketball court in Athens on October 16, 2022. Eighteen year old Prince is a second-generation migrant in Greece. He does not have a Greek citizenship even though he was born in Greece. I met these children at the basketball courts of my neighborhood in the center of Athens. They love basketball and live for it, they play to forget their problems. They are second-generation migrants in Greece. Unfortunately they do not have the same luck of the superstar basketball player Giannis Antetokounmpo, as they do not have Greek citizenship even though they were born in Greece, speak Greek and study in Greece. Greek goverment gave Greek citizenship to Giannis Antetokounmpo through special procedures in 2013, but did not took care to restore the gap for citizenship for the rest second-generation migrants. These children know that they will not become superstar basketball players but they hope to have the opportunities to claim a better future for themselves and their families. Angelos Tzortzinis

Second Place - 2022 Sports Picture Story (Excerpt) Bullfighting: art, religion and death. This series aims to explore the relationships between bullfighting, art, religion and death. In Spain, although there are opposing opinions, this practice is considered by many as an art, part of the cultural heritage. In addition, there is a strong link with religion, since most bullfighters are deeply religious. And lastly, death in the bullring, like that inescapable end at the end of a bullfight. Jordi Cohen

Third Place - 2022 Sports Picture Story (Excerpt) Story summary: Athletes from around the world competed in para hockey at the Beijing Paralympic Winter Games through nine days. Their drive defied their disabilities. However, Team USA won an unprecedented fourth-straight Paralympic gold.BEIJING, CHINA - MARCH 05: during the Para Ice Hockey Preliminary Round Group B match between Slovakia and China during Day One of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics at National Indoor Stadium on March 05, 2022 in Beijing, China. Steph Chambers / Getty Images

Honorable Mention - 2022 Sports Picture Story (Excerpt) SUMMARY: Duke Head Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski coached his final home at Cameron Indoor Stadium after 42 years seasons. Krzyzewski, who has the most wins of any college coach in history, earned five national titles, 13 Final Fours, 15 ACC tournament championships, and 13 ACC regular season titles.CAPTION: Duke Head Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski during pregame introductions before his final home game after 42 seasons, in Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke University, in Durham, N.C., on Saturday, March 5, 2022. Al Drago

Honorable Mention - 2022 Sports Picture Story (Excerpt) In order to keep disputes from causing violence in the community, Chris Wilmore started Streetbeefs a decade ago. The monthly fighting events, that meet in a homeowners country field in Virginia, give people the chance to settle their problems in the ring with boxing, mixed martial arts and kick boxing. There are also matches that don't involve a grudge. Ameil Barbour warms up before his fight during a Streetbeefs event on Saturday December 04, 2021 in Winchester, VA. Chris Wilmore started Streetbeefs to keep violence from erupting in communities and to solve the disagreements in the ring. The event had boxing and mixed martial arts. Matt Mcclain / The Washington Post

Second Place - 2022 Portrait Mahtab 8-year-old Hazara Shiite student poses for a photo in her class in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, April 23, 2022. On Saturday, the Abdul Rahim Shaheed School, which was among the IS-K targets in the Tuesday attacks, re-opened. The school's principal handed each student a pen and a flower as they began classes on Saturday. Ebrahim Noroozi / Associated Press

Honorable Mention - 2022 Portrait PORTRAIT OF LOSS.Soldiers attend a funeral for Denys Anatskyi who died from mortar fire near Chuhuiv during the Russian invasion as he is laid to rest in Kharkiv, Ukraine on June 24, 2022. His wife and daughter, born in January, are now under occupation in Melitopol and unable to attend his service. Carol Guzy

Third Place - 2022 Portrait The Spanish bullfighter Pepe Moral concentrated before fighting in Barrancos (Portugal). Barrancos , the only arena in Portugal where bulls can be slaughtered by a law of exception that authorizes it from August 29 to 31. Jordi Cohen

Honorable Mention - 2022 Portrait Tamale Safaulu, 28, poses on stage during the Mr.001 bodybuilding competition in Mombasa, Kenya, on December 11, 2021. Tamale is a Ugandan bodybuilder who has been competing since 2015. In February 2020 he lost his leg in a motorcycle accident but a year later he was able to win Mr. Kampala in the persons with disabilities category. Mr.001 is his first bodybuilding event outside of Uganda. Patrick Meinhardt

First Place - 2022 Feature To the delight of their children, Nahndy Malbrough (center, left) gives her partner April Turner a kiss after they were wed by Justice of the Peace Judge Valencia Nash at the South Dallas Government Center, February 22, 2022. Their kids (from left), Kymmani Malbrough, SJ Tucker and Talia Phoenix served as their bridal court. The docket in the courts building were full of couples wanting to be wed on palindrome date- 22nd day of the 2nd month of 2022. Tom Fox / The Dallas Morning News

Second Place - 2022 Feature Residents dance and enjoy of the San Juan Bautista celebration in Curiepe, Venezuela, Thursday, June 23, 2022. The celebration commemorates the birth of St. John the Baptist and according to local lore the festival is the time when slaves were allowed to rest for three days in observance of the annual June 24th feast. Ariana Cubillos / Associated Press

Honorable Mention - 2022 Feature A young fencer strikes a pose for her parents as they take photos of her in downtown Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, July 24, 2022. Matias Delacroix / Associated Press

Third Place - 2022 Feature Elephant keeper Kiapi Lakupanai plays with two calves at Reteti Elephant Sanctuary in Namunyak Wildlife Conservancy, Samburu, Kenya on October 12, 2022.Reteti Elephant Sanctuary has been overwhelmed with rescue operations and the influx of orphaned and abandoned calves due to the current drought in Namunyak Wildlife Conservancy where they operate. Parched lands and dry wells cover the terrain leading to many baby elephants to lose their exhausted mothers, or get abandoned or lost.East Africas worst drought in forty years is starving Kenyas famed wildlife of usual food and water sources while increasing human-wildlife conflict. The severe drought has not only put millions of people on the brink of starvation, but it is also threatening the rich biodiversity in the region. Luis Tato

Honorable Mention - 2022 Feature A young boy celebrates as he plays cricket with his friends in Chaman-e-Hozori park, Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, November 19 , 2021. Petros Giannakouris / Associated Press

First Place - 2022 Feature Picture Story (Excerpt) Drug addiction has long been a problem in Afghanistan, the worlds biggest producer of opium and heroin. The ranks of the addicted have been fueled by persistent poverty and by decades of war that left few families unscarred. Body of a dead addict lies covered by a shawl in an area inhabited by drug users under a bridge in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, June 15, 2022. Ebrahim Noroozi / Associated Press

Second Place - 2022 Feature Picture Story (Excerpt) All will disappear as a blizzard of dark ash blows from a volcano on La Palma island and drifts to the ground inch by inch, foot by foot. Inside the exclusion zone, there is destruction by lava as well as burial in a sepulcher of black snow. A living room furnished with a hammock sits empty in the final hours before an implacable tongue of molten rock crushes an entire house. Whether the end comes from lava or from ash, homes and fields located below the Cumbre Vieja volcano face annihilation in slow motion. Since the eruption started on Sept. 19, authorities have declared over 20,000 acres (8,200 hectares) between the Cumbre Vieja volcano and the Atlantic Ocean off-limits. Only police, soldiers, and scientists are allowed to move freely in the exclusion zone, which cuts La Palmas western shore in two. The lush land previously approximated an earthly paradise for both residents and visitors. Spaniards and other Europeans spent vacations or retired here to be near the sea, while locals harvested banana trees in the semi-tropical warmth of Spains Canary Islands. Now, evacuated residents line up in cars and trucks on the zone's edge, awaiting permission to make escorted trips home to rescue their dearest possessions, or at least see their endangered properties. Human time and geological time were brought into sync by the volcano. What once seemed a given - the land beneath people's feet - becomes as fluid and unpredictable as the lives the eruption threw into tumult. The creep of the lava, the build-up of ash, are matched by the growing anguish of the men and women whose way of life is being erased. Silence would reign in the exclusion zone if it werent for what residents have named the beast. The volcanos constant roar makes conversation almost impossible, nearly drowns out both the barking of abandoned dogs and the murmur of a flock of passenger pigeons circling the sky in search of a coop that no longer exists. T

Third Place - 2022 Feature Picture Story (Excerpt) Kryslyn Stanley is learning how to be a single mother after leaving her partner, and father of her youngest daughter, Nyx due to domestic violence. Their relationship had become toxic and emotionally abusive, but when she was given a black eye in August, Stanley decided she was finished. She found the strength to leave him and get a protective order for her and her two daughters. Stanley and her daughters, Nyx and Sylyn, were able to stay at a Motel 6 with city money earmarked for residents of her apartment complex who didnt have working air-conditioning in record Texas heat. This gave Kryslyn time and space to recover while her ex moved his things out of her place. Stanley has had to put off dealing with her trauma from the relationship while she helps her daughters heal. Her ex, who has been tracking her locations through her I-phone, will show up at random places out of the blue, further traumatizing their daughter, Nyx. Nyx has been acting out with violent tantrums while Kryslyn patiently explains to her that it is OK for her to feel big things but she must control her actions. Stanley is worried about the long term impacts of this experience on her daughters, but is working hard to ensure her daughters both feel safe and have the space to work through their emotions. Kryslyn Stanley watches over her daughter, Nyx, while they wait for the bus, September 20. The pair had just eaten their grocery store dinner on the bus stop bench when Nyxs balloons blew into the street. Nyx held tightly to them after they were recovered. Stanley was forced to use the bus system after her car was repossessed, meaning she was unable to earn money doing delivery driving putting her further behind in getting back on her feet after leaving her ex. Jessica Phelps / Newark Advocate

Honorable Mention - 2022 Feature Picture Story (Excerpt) The barber chair where Sherman Peebles used to cut hair on Saturdays sits empty at Overflo Beauty and Barber Shop in Columbus, Ga., Wednesday, March 9, 2022. In late September, as Peebles, who also worked as a sheriff's deputy, lay in a hospital bed, COVID-19's toll reached 675,000, surpassing the number of Americans killed by the Spanish flu pandemic a century ago. He died at age 49 the next day. Months later, his best friend and shop owner, Gerald Riley, still arrives at the shop each Saturday expecting to see Peebles' truck parked outside. At day's end, he thinks back to the routine he and his friend of 25 years always followed when closing. "I love you, brother," they'd tell one another. How could Riley have known those would be the last words they'd ever share? If losing one person leaves such a lasting void, consider all thats been lost with the deaths of 1 million. The U.S. toll from the coronavirus has surpassed that once unthinkable milestone. David Goldman / Associated Press

Honorable Mention - 2022 Feature Picture Story (Excerpt) Sarah Wallingford, 31, stands among the campfire smoke as she prepares breakfast in the homeless encampment she calls home on the island along the banks of the Kennebec River in the South End of Waterville, Maine on Wednesday, September 7, 2022. Michael Seamans / Morning Sentinel