As the year comes to a close, it's time to take a look back at some of the most memorable events and images of 2016. Among the events covered in this essay (the last of a three-part photo summary of the year): the U.S. presidential election; continued wars in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen; a new view of the planet Jupiter; the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew; protests against the Dakota Access pipeline project; and much more. See also, the Top 25 News Photos of 2016, the Year in Photos Part 1, and the Year in Photos Part 2. The series comprises 120 images in all. Warning: some of the photos may contain graphic or objectionable content.
2016: The Year in Photos, September–December
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Police officers wearing riot gear block a road during protests after police fatally shot Keith Lamont Scott in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Charlotte, North Carolina, on September 20, 2016. #
Adam Rhew / Charlotte Magazine / Reuters -
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Syrian men carrying babies make their way through the rubble of destroyed buildings following a reported air strike on the rebel-held Salihin neighborhood of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, on September 11, 2016. #
Ameer Alhalbi / AFP / Getty -
The model FeeBee poses as part of art installation "Narcissism : Dazzle room" made by artist Shigeki Matsuyama at rooms33 fashion and design exhibition in Tokyo on September 14, 2016. Matsuyama's installation features a strong contrast of black and white, which he learned from dazzle camouflage used mainly in World War I. #
Eugene Hoshiko / AP -
The crowd reacts as hecklers are escorted out during a speech by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a rally on September 12, 2016, at U.S. Cellular Center in Asheville, North Carolina. Trump criticized Democratic rival Hillary Clinton for saying that half of his supporters belong in a "basket of deplorables." #
Brian Blanco / Getty -
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Regas Woods, of the United States, competes in the men's long jump T42 final during the Paralympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on September 17, 2016. #
Mauro Pimentel / AP -
A melted basketball hoop is seen at a burned out property in the Santa Cruz Mountains near Loma Prieta, California, on September 27, 2016. The fire had charred more than 1,000 acres and burned multiple structures in the area. #
Josh Edelson / AFP / Getty -
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A migrant is rescued from the Mediterranean Sea by a member of Proactiva Open Arms NGO about 20 nautical miles north of Libya on October 3, 2016. Thousands of migrants were "racing against the clock" to make the perilous crossing from Libya to Europe before summer ended, with authorities in the conflict-torn country at a loss to stem the flow. #
Aris Messinis / AFP / Getty -
Migrants step over dead bodies while being rescued by members of Proactiva Open Arms NGO in the Mediterranean Sea, about 12 nautical miles north of Libya, on October 4, 2016. Twenty-eight Europe-bound migrants were found dead on a day of frantic rescues off Libya, including at least 22 in an overloaded wooden boat, an AFP photographer and the Italian coastguard said. #
Aris Messinis / AFP / Getty -
A man wears a shirt reading "Rope. Tree. Journalist." as supporters gather to rally with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in a cargo hangar at Minneapolis Saint Paul International Airport in Minneapolis on November 6, 2016. #
Jonathan Ernst / Reuters -
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The flash of an exploding stun grenade is seen while a University of Witwatersrand student jumps on a falling policeman while at the same moment, another policeman discharged his rubber-bullet-loaded rifle during a running battle with the police forces on campus during a mass demonstration in Johannesburg on October 4, 2016. South African police fired rubber bullets, stun grenades, and teargas at student protesters as authorities tried to re-open the prestigious Wits University after weeks of demonstrations. The university, along with many campuses across South Africa, had been closed for at least two weeks during protests over tuition fees, with violent clashes regularly erupting between students, police, and private security guards. #
Marco Longari / AFP / Getty -
The body of a Syrian child lies on a table at a morgue on October 5, 2016, following reported air strikes on the rebel-held town of Douma, Syria, on the eastern outskirts of the capital Damascus. #
Abd Doumany / AFP / Getty -
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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump responds as Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton answers a question during the second presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis, on October 9, 2016. #
Julio Cortez / AP -
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Saida Ahmad Baghili, 18, who is affected by severe acute malnutrition, sits on a bed at the al-Thawra hospital in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, Yemen, on October 24, 2016. Reuters followed Saida's story after this, and on December 6, reported, "Now, after weeks of specialist hospital care in the capital Sanaa, though she can still barely speak and sometimes finds eating more difficult than ever, she can at least smile." Nearly two years of war between a Saudi-led Arab coalition and the Iran-allied Houthi movement has deepened the plight of Baghili's family and millions of other Yemenis. In her parched village on the Red Sea coast, impoverished residents have long struggled to put food on the table. Doctors believe Saida's condition—which began several years before the war began—has damaged her throat, and when her family first brought her to a regional hospital in October, she could barely keep her eyes open or stand. "We admitted Saida to find out the cause of her inability to eat, and it's clear that she suffers from severe malnutrition," Doctor Wasfi al-Zakari of Sanaa's al-Thawra hospital said. "Her health remains chronic, and her bones remain fragile due to stunted growth. In all likelihood, they will never return to normal," he said. #
Abduljabbar Zeyad / Reuters -
This image from NASA's Juno spacecraft provides a never-before-seen perspective on Jupiter's south pole. The JunoCam instrument acquired the view when the spacecraft was about 58,700 miles (94,500 kilometers) above the polar region. At this point, the spacecraft was about an hour past its closest approach, and fine detail in the south polar region is clearly resolved. Unlike the equatorial region's familiar structure of belts and zones, the poles are mottled by clockwise and counterclockwise rotating storms of various sizes, similar to giant versions of terrestrial hurricanes. #
JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS / NASA -
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A boy pauses on his bike as he passes an oil field that was set on fire by retreating ISIS fighters ahead of the Mosul offensive on October 21, 2016 in Qayyarah, Iraq. #
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A woman weeps as she listens to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump address a campaign rally at the Phoenix Convention Center, his seventh visit to the state during the election season, on October 29, 2016 in Phoenix. #
Chip Somodevilla / Getty -
Friends and family members attend a memorial service for 17-year-old twin brothers Edward and Edwin Bryant who were shot and killed early on the morning of October 31, 2016, in Chicago. The two were among 17 people killed and more than 40 wounded by gun violence in the city over the weekend. #
Scott Olson / Getty -
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Soldiers from the Iraqi army's 9th Armored Division greet residents as bodies of ISIS fighters litter a street in the eastern Al-Intissar neighborhood of Mosul, Iraq, on November 6, 2016. Iraqi forces battled jihadists inside Mosul for the third day running while civilians risked their lives dodging bombs and snipers to slip out of the city. #
Odd Andersen / AFP / Getty -
Chicago Cubs fans hug outside of Progressive Field after Game Seven of the World Series between the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Cubs on November 2, 2016, in Cleveland. The Cubs defeated the Indians 8-7 in 10 innings for their first World Series championship in 108 years. #
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People react as they watch election returns during an election night event for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City on November 8, 2016. #
Don Emmert / AFP / Getty -
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U.K. newspapers "The Sun," "The Times," and "The Evening Standard" feature Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election on their front pages on November 9, 2016, in London. British Prime Minister Theresa May congratulated Trump and released a statement promising to work with him to build on the special relationship between the U.K. and the U.S.. #
Tristan Fewings / Getty -
Clair Sheehan has the words "Not My President" written on her forehead as she takes part in a protest against the election of President-elect Donald Trump in downtown Seattle on November 9, 2016. #
Ted S. Warren / AP -
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Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton steps down a staircase after making a concession speech following her defeat to Republican President-elect Donald Trump in New York on November 9, 2016. #
Jewel Samad / AFP / Getty -
Jake Moores, who was a commodore in the Royal Navy, looks at some of the 19,420 figurines that have been laid out on College Green as part of the "19240 Shrouds of the Somme" art installation on November 11, 2016, in Bristol, England. The artwork by artist Rob Heard features figurines representing each one of the British soldiers who died on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. #
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A golden pheasant is seen at Hangzhou Safari Park in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, on November 13, 2016. According to local media, the pheasant gained popularity as its golden feathers resemble the hairstyle of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. #
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Protesters stand before police during an anti-government protest in the Gwanghwamun area of central Seoul, South Korea, on November 12, 2016. Up to one million people were expected to take to the streets of Seoul to demand the resignation of scandal-hit President Park Geun-hye in one of the largest anti-government protests in decades. #
Ed Jones / AFP / Getty -
The dead body of a man believed to be a refugee who was seen floating with a life jacket approximately 15 miles from the Libyan Coast before being picked up by a team made up of members of MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station) and the Red Cross on November 20, 2016, in Pozzallo, Italy. The number of deaths this year of people crossing the Mediterranean has risen to almost 4,300. MOAS alone has rescued around 19,000 people. #
Dan Kitwood / Getty -
Police confront protesters with a rubber-bullet gun during a protest against plans to pass the Dakota Access pipeline near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, on November 20, 2016. In December, a decision was made by the U.S. Army to deny an easement to the controversial pipeline. Opponents fear the decision might be reversed, though, as the official in charge is the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works—a position appointed by the current U.S. president, who will be changing in January. #
Stephanie Keith / Reuters -
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U.S. President Barack Obama presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres during an East Room ceremony at the White House on November 22, 2016, in Washington, DC. #
Alex Wong / Getty -
An Iraqi shepherd watches over his flock of sheep, their fleece blackened by smoke from burning oil wells set ablaze by ISIS jihadists before retreating towards Mosul, Iraqu, as they graze near the town of Qayyarah, Iraq, on November 25, 2016. #
Thomas Coex / AFP / Getty -
People sit on their rooftop to get a better view as the remains of former Cuban President Fidel Castro pass by on their cross-country journey from Havana to Santiago de Cuba on December 1, 2016, in Santa Clara, Cuba. Castro, the revolutionary leader who brought communism to his island nation in 1959, died on November 25, 2016, at the age of 90. #
Chip Somodevilla / Getty -
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