Politics

20121213-214145-pic-744845722.jpg

More than 1,000 protesters were involved in a march on the New York State Capitol in Albany in August demanding that Gov. Andrew Cuomo ban fracking in the state. While the governor still hasn’t ruled, the state attorney general and six other East Coast states are suing for harsher air-quality rules on the oil and gas industry and its most effective drilling method. (Associated Press)

20121213-214145-pic-361887582.jpg

Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, continues to mull whether to allow fracking in upstate New York, where an economic shot in the arm is desperately needed. (Associated Press)

20121213-213640-pic-513540165.jpg

ASSOCIATED PRESS A poster in Cairo says in Arabic, “Your constitution is invalid.” In advance of Egypt’s constitutional referendum Saturday, the Muslim Brotherhood has been putting up posters urging acceptance, but the issue is very divisive.

20121213-211726-pic-256350540.jpg

Kurdish members of the Free Syria Army ride on a tank stolen from the Syrian army in Fafeen village, north of Aleppo, in Syria on Wednesday. The rebels have made significant gains on the ground in Damascus, Deir al-Zour and Aleppo, where they have overrun military bases. (Associated Press)

20121213-205209-pic-270499644.jpg

President Obama leaves Blair House in Washington after attending a party for the National Security Council. Mr. Obama and House Speaker John A. Boehner are locked in talks to try to avoid the “fiscal cliff.” (Associated Press)

20121213-205209-pic-790828997.jpg

“I have a feeling it is going to be this typical way Washington always works: raise taxes now, for promises of spending cuts later that will never come.” — Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican (Associated Press)

20121213-205209-pic-211593971.jpg

House Speaker John A. Boehner uses a chart to make a point on Capitol Hill on Thursday. He and President Obama are locked in talks to try to avoid the “fiscal cliff.” (Associated Press)

TUBA_CHRISTMAS121316

"For your daily does of bass, this is the time, this is the year, this is the place," says Washington, D.C. resident Santo Buzzanca of the Tuba Christmas 2012, which was held Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012 at the Kennedy Center. Buzzanca says this is his fourth time participating in the concert, which dates back to 1974. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

TUBA_CHRISTMAS121315

One of the conductors for Tuba Christmas 2012 is seen reflected in a tuba during rehearsal at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

TUBA_CHRISTMAS121313

A tuba player rehearses at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012 for Tuba Christmas. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

TUBA_CHRISTMAS121312

Bass tubists, including Santo Buzzanca, left, of Washington, D.C., rehearse on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012 for Tuba Christmas. More than 200 tubists participated in this year's event. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

TUBA_CHRISTMAS121311

A girl holds a music book for the Tuba Christmas concert at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

TUBA_CHRISTMAS121308

Thomas Smith, left, of Washington, D.C. and Rod Ellis, of Gainesville have a conversation before the start of rehearsal for Tuba Christmas 2012 at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012. Ellis has been participating in the concert since 1986, and Smith says he has played in it for several years as well. The concert originated in Rockefeller Center in 1974 and is now held worldwide. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

lagon.jpg

"Diplomatic immunity must not become diplomatic impunity" - Mark P. Lagon, who headed the State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons under President George W. Bush. (State.gov)

20121213-173321-pic-740796051.jpg

On Friday, the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, in conjunction with the African American History and Culture Museum, will open a new exhibit that tells the story of civil rights in America through significant objects, such as Lincoln's top hat, Harriet Tubman's shawl, and a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation that Union soldiers distributed to blacks during the Civil War.

20121213-164547-pic-88292952.jpg

Bill Murray plays President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who takes on a new mistress and entertains King George VI at his rustic hideaway in “Hyde Park on Hudson.” (Focus Features via Associated Press)