Melanie Bolanos, 9, writes messages on a car window to protest hate crimes committed against Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities ahead of a car caravan in Koreatown on March 19, 2021 in Los Angeles. Asian communities in the U.S. have been shaken by recent racist attacks and a series of shootings at spas in the Atlanta area that left eight people dead, including six Asian women.

Motorists wait in long lines to take a coronavirus test in a parking lot at Dodger Stadium Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, in Los Angeles.

A health worker is projected on a vial of the new one-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination site in Covina, California, on March 13, 2021. The Covina Transit Center will serve as a San Gabriel Valley COVID-19 vaccination site starting today under a partnership between the city of Covina, Foothill Transit and Albertsons, the latter of which is administering the shots.

Droplets fall from a syringe after a man was injected with the new one-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination site in Covina, California, on March 13, 2021. The Covina Transit Center will serve as a San Gabriel Valley COVID-19 vaccination site starting today under a partnership between the city of Covina, Foothill Transit and Albertsons, the latter of which is administering the shots.

A woman is silhouetted, takes off her face mask wild dancing in front of a full moon, also known as ÒSnow MoonÓ, rising in Los Angeles, Friday, February 26, 2021.

Girls wearing face masks take nap over the pillows while their parents shopping in an IKEA sore in Burbank, California, October 10, 2021. In line with the State of California mandate, IKEA requires customers and co-workers to wear masks while indoors on IKEA property regardless of individual vaccination status. Other COVID-19 safety protocols including social distancing and cleaning will stay in place for the time being.

A woman pulls a trolley with a baby girl as an almost full moon rises behind during the sun sets in Los Angeles, Wednesday, June 23, 2021.

A girl wearing a face mask takes part in a ground-breaking ceremony for Dali Dog Park at Schabarum Regional Park, May 21, 2021 in Rowland Heights, California.

A family of migrants from Cuba run across the border by the wall separating the United States and Mexico to turn themselves over to authorities on May 13, 2021 in Yuma, Arizona.

A girl looks on as Migrants from Guatemala take out their shoelaces as they are initially processed after turn themselves over to authorities at the United States and Mexico border May 12, 2021 in Yuma, Arizona.

Conductor Gustavo Dudamel greets singer Cynthia Erivo after they performed during the LA Philharmonic Homecoming Concert & Gala in Walt Disney Concert Hall, Saturday, October 9, 2021 in Los Angeles.

Audiences wearing face masks attend the LA Philharmonic Homecoming Concert & Gala in Walt Disney Concert Hall, Saturday, October 9, 2021 in Los Angeles.

Maskless soccer fans yell during the second half of a friendly soccer match between the Chivas Guadalajara and the C.D. FAS, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021, in Los Angeles.The game ended in a 0-0 draw.

A man sits in front of cutout fans that fill the seats during an NCAA college basketball game between UCLA and Arizona Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, in Los Angeles.

Demar Matthews, architect and owner of Offtop Design.

Homlesswoman Valerie Zeller is reflected at a mirror at an encampment in Echo Lake Park as the city makes plans to evict all the parks encampments during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Los Angeles, March 24, 2021. Hundreds of advocates for the homeless gathered at Echo Park Lake today to protest plans by the city to clear a large homeless encampment from the park and close the area for what's being described as more than a half-million-dollars in repair work.

Tracy Gray, founder of the 22 Fund.

Residents walk their dog as a brush fire burns behind homes in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles Saturday, May 15, 2021.

Homeowner Jose Lamas, right, and his daughter Astrid Covarrubias survey the charred debris left in his burned-out home from the South Fire in Lytle Creek, San Bernardino County, north of Rialto, Calif., Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2021.

A police officer comforts Soledad Peralta at the scene where her 14-year-old daughter Valentina Orellana-Peralta, killed by a stray bullet fired by an LAPD officer in a shooting at a Burlington store in North Hollywood, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021.

More than 120,000 gallons of oil leaked from a rig and into the coast of Southern California fouled popular beaches and killed wildlife while crews scrambled Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021, to contain the crude before it spread further into protected wetlands.

An aerial photo shows the closed beach after an oil washed up on a beach in Newport Beach, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. A major oil spill off the coast of Southern California fouled popular beaches and killed wildlife while crews scrambled Sunday, to contain the crude before it spread further into protected wetlands.

Oil washed up on Huntington Beach, Calif., on Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021. A major oil spill off the coast of Southern California fouled popular beaches and killed wildlife while crews scrambled Sunday to contain the crude before it spread further into protected wetlands.

An aerial photo shows floating barriers known as booms to try to stop further incursion into the Wetlands Talbert Marsh after an oil spill in Huntington Beach, Calif., on Huntington Beach, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. A major oil spill off the coast of Southern California fouled popular beaches and killed wildlife while crews scrambled Sunday, to contain the crude before it spread further into protected wetlands.

Cleanup contractors deploy skimmers and floating barriers known as booms to try to stop further oil crude incursion into the Wetlands Talbert Marsh in Huntington Beach, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021. One of the largest oil spills in recent Southern California history fouled popular beaches and killed wildlife while crews scrambled Sunday to contain the crude before it spread further into protected wetlands.

Workers in protective suits clean oil in an inlet leading to the Wetlands Talbert Marsh after an oil spill in Huntington Beach, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021. A major oil spill off the coast of Southern California fouled popular beaches and killed wildlife while crews scrambled Sunday, to contain the crude before it spread further into protected wetlands.

Dr. Duane Tom, of Oiled Wildlife Care Network, UC Davis, inspects a contaminated Sanderling shorebird from the oil spill in Huntington Beach, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. A major oil spill off the coast of Southern California fouled popular beaches and killed wildlife while crews scrambled Sunday, to contain the crude before it spread further into protected wetlands.

Workers in protective suits walk by as a dead marine life washed off on a beach after an oil spill in Newport Beach, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. A major oil spill off the coast of Southern California fouled popular beaches and killed wildlife while crews scrambled Sunday, to contain the crude before it spread further into protected wetlands.

A worker in protective suit cleans the contaminated beach after an oil spill in Newport Beach, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. Some of the crude oil that spilled from a pipeline into the waters off Southern California has been breaking up naturally in ocean currents, a Coast Guard official said Wednesday as authorities sought to determine the scope of the damage.

A boy pulls a shovel and a surfer walks by as workers in protective suits continue to clean the contaminated beach in Huntington Beach, Calif., Monday, Oct. 11, 2021. Huntington Beach reopened its shoreline this morning after water testing results came back with non-detectable amounts of oil associated toxins in ocean water, city officials and California State Parks announced.

A warning sign is displayed as workers in protective suits clean the contaminated beach after an oil spill in Huntington Beach, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021. A major oil spill off the coast of Southern California fouled popular beaches and killed wildlife while crews scrambled Sunday, to contain the crude before it spread further into protected wetlands.

Police officers stand guard during a protest to support US President Donald Trump in Los Angeles, California, on January 6, 2021. - Trump supporters, fueled by his spurious claims of voter fraud, are protesting the expected certification of Joe Biden's White House victory by the US Congress on January 6.

Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest in Los Angeles, California, on January 6, 2021. - Trump supporters, fueled by his spurious claims of voter fraud, are protesting the expected certification of Joe Biden's White House victory by the US Congress on January 6.

A protester shows her butt as supporters of US President Donald Trump protest in Los Angeles, California, on January 6, 2021. - Trump supporters, fueled by his spurious claims of voter fraud, are protesting the expected certification of Joe Biden's White House victory by the US Congress on January 6.

A police officer stands guard as supporters of US President Donald Trump protest in Los Angeles, California, on January 6, 2021. - Trump supporters, fueled by his spurious claims of voter fraud, are protesting the expected certification of Joe Biden's White House victory by the US Congress on January 6.

A counter protester, right, confronts a supporter of President Donald Trump during a protest in Los Angeles, California, on January 6, 2021. - Trump supporters, fueled by his spurious claims of voter fraud, are protesting the expected certification of Joe Biden's White House victory by the US Congress on January 6.

Counter protesters and supporters of President Donald Trump fight during a protest in Los Angeles, California, on January 6, 2021. - Trump supporters, fueled by his spurious claims of voter fraud, are protesting the expected certification of Joe Biden's White House victory by the US Congress on January 6.

Counter protesters and supporters of President Donald Trump fight during a protest in Los Angeles, California, on January 6, 2021. - Trump supporters, fueled by his spurious claims of voter fraud, are protesting the expected certification of Joe Biden's White House victory by the US Congress on January 6.

A protester is seen covered in blood after a fight during a protest to support President Donald Trump fight in Los Angeles, California, on January 6, 2021. - Trump supporters, fueled by his spurious claims of voter fraud, are protesting the expected certification of Joe Biden's White House victory by the US Congress on January 6.

Police officers detain a protester after a fight during a protest to support President Donald Trump fight in Los Angeles, California, on January 6, 2021. - Trump supporters, fueled by his spurious claims of voter fraud, are protesting the expected certification of Joe Biden's White House victory by the US Congress on January 6.

Police officers detain a protester after a fight during a protest to support President Donald Trump fight in Los Angeles, California, on January 6, 2021. - Trump supporters, fueled by his spurious claims of voter fraud, are protesting the expected certification of Joe Biden's White House victory by the US Congress on January 6.

Apprentice jockey Diego Herrera after losing during a claiming race. Several months later, Herrera stepped in as a replacement jockey minutes prior to a Grade 1 race. Herrera won the race, a feat virtually unheard of for an apprentice jockey. At Santa Anita Park on Saturday, October 30, 2021 in Arcadia, Calif.

The sculpture ÒForever MarilynÓ is sprayed in the middle of the night during installation. The 26 foot tall, 24,000 pound stainless steel and aluminum sculpture is being erected in Palm Springs to promote tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic, reportedly at a cost of $1 million. The sculpture's installation made national news when a group protested and sued the city, saying the location is not appropriate. Others are protesting the statue's pose, saying it over sexualizes Monroe. Due to a record heat wave, with temperatures during the week tying the all time high of 123 degrees, the surface of the statue reached over 150 degrees. The heat is making it impossible for the artists to complete much of the work during the daytime, forcing them to work at night. Saturday, June 19, 2021 in Palm Springs, Calif.

The unusual rains this week made the air clear and the mountains visible in Los Angeles. This is one of the rare occasions the air is clean enough to see them. Normally, the mountains are not visible due to the air quality. January 31, 2021 in Los Angeles, Calif.

Pepe Ontiveros and his horse, ÒKilo,Ó whom he purchased about 6 months ago. "I've been doing this all my life. He was a little wild at first, but now we have a bond and we get along real good." Kilo is a former race horse but Ontiveros doesn't know his original racing name. Kilo is about 8 or 9 years old. At Santa Anita Park on Saturday, October 30, 2021 in Arcadia, Calif.

Phyllis Thomas, 99 1/2, rests at her home. Thomas has lived in this house ever since she was a young girl. She was baptized as a baby in nearby St. MaryÕs Church in Palms, shortly after the church was founded is now the oldest member of the parish. She has many memories of growing up in Culver City, including being the babysitter for the Beach Boys, before they formed their group. Friday, March 19, 2021 in Culver City, Calif.

The lake at Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area on Saturday, October 23, in Los Angeles, Calif.

Rev. Tim Grumbach administers Communion at the Òdrive-in MassÓ held due to the COVID-19 pandemic at St. AugustineÕs Catholic Church. Due to health advisories, the church is unable to host Mass indoors. Friday, March 5, 2021, in Culver City, Calif.

STORY SUMMARY Time to Shine: First Trainer of Color to Compete in BreedersÕ Cup World Championships Races Daughter of KY Derby Winner California Chrome George Leonard III is the first trainer of any color to compete in the BreedersÕ Cup World Championships. He purchased California Angel, a filly sired by Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome for only $5,500, in a sport where horses are frequently sold for millions. California Angel was a surprise come from behind winner in the Jessamine Stakes race to qualify for entry in the World Championships. ÒI am the first man of color to ever start in the BreedersÕ Cup. ItÕs not fair on a lot of fronts. ThatÕs a whole other conversation. ThereÕs never been anybody of any color. The BreedersÕ Cup is for rich people. They spend millions and spend big money for better bred horses. We donÕt fit in the mold of being elite and wealthy. The ones with the most money have better horses. Occasionally a horse like Angel slips through the cracks.Ó California Angel finished 11th place in the big race. Said Leonard, ÒI was disappointed and gratified at the same time. I really wanted to win. But I was also very grateful to be here at all. Just a few months ago it would have been hard to imagine one of the biggest days in my life was coming. Just being here was an accomplishment.Ó The horseÕs owner, Chris Walsh, had an offer to sell Angel for half a million dollars. ÒI couldnÕt do that to George,Ó she said. ÒHe found her. It would have been very unfair to George to sell her. ItÕs all of our dream. WeÕre a team.Ó George and California Angel are nominated for ÒMoment of the Year" from the National Thoroughbred Racing Association for the history that they have made together.

STORY SUMMARY Time to Shine: First Trainer of Color to Compete in BreedersÕ Cup World Championships Races Daughter of KY Derby Winner California Chrome George Leonard III is the first trainer of any color to compete in the BreedersÕ Cup World Championships. He purchased California Angel, a filly sired by Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome for only $5,500, in a sport where horses are frequently sold for millions. California Angel was a surprise come from behind winner in the Jessamine Stakes race to qualify for entry in the World Championships. ÒI am the first man of color to ever start in the BreedersÕ Cup. ItÕs not fair on a lot of fronts. ThatÕs a whole other conversation. ThereÕs never been anybody of any color. The BreedersÕ Cup is for rich people. They spend millions and spend big money for better bred horses. We donÕt fit in the mold of being elite and wealthy. The ones with the most money have better horses. Occasionally a horse like Angel slips through the cracks.Ó California Angel finished 11th place in the big race. Said Leonard, ÒI was disappointed and gratified at the same time. I really wanted to win. But I was also very grateful to be here at all. Just a few months ago it would have been hard to imagine one of the biggest days in my life was coming. Just being here was an accomplishment.Ó The horseÕs owner, Chris Walsh, had an offer to sell Angel for half a million dollars. ÒI couldnÕt do that to George,Ó she said. ÒHe found her. It would have been very unfair to George to sell her. ItÕs all of our dream. WeÕre a team.Ó George and California Angel are nominated for ÒMoment of the Year" from the National Thoroughbred Racing Association for the history that they have made together.IMAGE CAPTIONCalifornia Angel, a thoroughbred, is a juvenile two year old filly sired by Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome. Purchased for just $5,500, she was the surprise winner at the Jessamine Stakes, held at the Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky, which automatically qualified her to run in the BreedersÕ Cup World Championships. Said her trainer George Leonard III, ÒI liked her eyes, how alert she was and athletically made. I liked her pedigree. I was amazed we got her for the price we did.Ó

George Leonard III, right, leads California Angel with exercise rider Chester Bonnet after a morning workout.

California Angel, ridden by Chester Bonnet, works out in the early morning.

George Leonard III: ÒI am the first man of color to ever start in the BreedersÕ Cup. ItÕs not fair on a lot of fronts. ThatÕs a whole other conversation. ThereÕs never been anybody of any color. The BreedersÕ Cup is for rich people. They spend millions and spend big money for better bred horses. We donÕt fit in the mold of being elite and wealthy. The ones with the most money have better horses. Occasionally a horse like Angel slips through the cracks. IÕve been training all my life. On weekends and after school - we trained with my father. We did it together. He was killed in a car accident about 15 years ago. I wish he could have seen this.Ó

Trainer George Leonard III washes the hooves of California Angel. Most horses at the Breeders’ Cup are with trainers who have staffs. It is unusual for a trainer to be bathing his own horse.

Trainer George Leonard III and his wife, Isabel, at the Breeders' Cup World Championships.

Owner Chris Walsh, center, and trainer George Leonard III share a lighthearted moment prior to the race. ÒWe have ÔB-team horses,Õ mostly Indiana bred and occasionally KY bred. SheÕs pretty special,Ó said Walsh. Walsh decided not to sell the horse despite being offered half a million dollars. ÒIt was an emotional decision. It wasnÕt a business decision. It would have been very unfair to George to sell her. He found her. He watched her in the ring. He didnÕt have to call me and tell me about her. He could have kept her and I wouldnÕt have known the difference. ItÕs all of our dream. WeÕre a team.Ó

Jockey Rafael Bejarano, exercise rider Chester Bonnet, and trainer George Leonard III lead California Angel to the BreedersÕ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf World Championships. Leonard is the first person of any color to bring a horse to the BreedersÕ Cup. California Angel was sired by Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome. Friday, November 5, 2021 in Del Mar, Calif.

Trainer George Leonard III watches the races from the box seats. He is the first person of any color to race a horse in the BreedersÕ Cup World Championships.

MARILYN STORY SUMMARYMarilyn Monroe died nearly 60 years ago in Los Angeles. She would have been 95 this year. Yet, like ripples on a pond, her memory lives on through the people who celebrate her and remember her. Some relate to her quietly, while others have dedicated their lives to keeping her story alive. Many tell stories of how she has inspired them and has gotten them through tough times. Some are captivated by her beauty. Others feel she has been misunderstood and her intelligence underestimated. Others simply enjoy her movies. There are few still living who knew her personally. Her crypt is visited regularly and flowers still arrive nearly daily. There is also the Òbusiness of Marilyn.Ó Marilyn is a tourist draw in Southern California - especially during the COVID-19 pandemic where her likenesses, small and huge, were brought in specifically for the purpose of bringing in tourist dollars. Simply put, there is only one Marilyn, and she is still a magnetic force in Southern Calif.

Horse trainer George Leonard III at the race. ÒI was disappointed and gratified at the same time. I really wanted to win. But I was also very grateful to be there at all. Just a few months ago it would have been hard to imagine one of the biggest days was coming. Just being there was an accomplishment. Angel was a lot more nervous. She was over excited. She broke decent and she made a good run in the end. It wasnÕt her best day at the races.Ó Leonard is the first person of any color to start in the BreedersÕ Cup World Championships. His horse, California Angel, was purchased for just $5,500 in a sport where horses are sold often for millions. A filly sired by Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome, California Angel finished a disappointing 11th place in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. He still dreams of going to the Kentucky Oaks. Friday, November 5, 2021 in Del Mar, Calif.

MARILYN STORY SUMMARYMarilyn Monroe died nearly 60 years ago in Los Angeles. She would have been 95 this year. Yet, like ripples on a pond, her memory lives on through the people who celebrate her and remember her. Some relate to her quietly, while others have dedicated their lives to keeping her story alive. Many tell stories of how she has inspired them and has gotten them through tough times. Some are captivated by her beauty. Others feel she has been misunderstood and her intelligence underestimated. Others simply enjoy her movies. There are few still living who knew her personally. Her crypt is visited regularly and flowers still arrive nearly daily. There is also the Òbusiness of Marilyn.Ó Marilyn is a tourist draw in Southern California - especially during the COVID-19 pandemic where her likenesses, small and huge, were brought in specifically for the purpose of bringing in tourist dollars. Simply put, there is only one Marilyn, and she is still a magnetic force in Southern Calif. IMAGE CAPTIONMarilyn Monroe helps save the theater during the pandemic. Due the Covid-19 pandemic, many movie theaters are shut down, losing billions of dollars in revenue globally. To make up for lost income, the TCL Chinese Theater on Hollywood Blvd. closed its famous courtyard to visitors and decided to charge an entry fee to the few tourists who visit. Visitors can no longer freely touch her handprints in the cement due to virus concerns, but they can now take pictures with her outdoors for a fee. A mannequin of Marilyn Monroe is installed by employee Earl on Thursday, March 11, 2021 in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, Calif.

Greg Schreiner is the president of the Marilyn Remembered Fan Club. Schreiner has a vast collection of personal items which once belonged to Monroe. ÒShe started from nothing. She was almost an orphan here in Los Angeles and rose to being one of the greatest movie stars of all time. I wish that I had known her, and thatÕs why I started collectingÑ so I could get to know her better. ThereÕs almost like a light around her. SheÕs so fascinating and I donÕt know why exactly. There are a lot of theories: possibly that she has a vulnerability, like sort of a child in a womanÕs body. But thereÕs more than that. ThereÕs such a lovely spirit that comes across. I didnÕt know her of course, but IÕve met dozens of people that did know her. They said that she had a very warm, giving, loving personality. She was the kind of person youÕd want to hang around.Ó Friday, April 9, 2021 in Los Angeles, Calif.

A memorial service for Marilyn Monroe is held in the same chapel where her memorial was originally held nearly sixty years ago. The Marilyn Remembered Fan Club has hosted regular meetings and organizes events, including the annual memorial service for nearly forty years. Established in 1982, the club was founded by four Marilyn Monroe fans who met by chance at her grave on the anniversary of her passing. The clubÕs mission: ÒTo preserve the memory of Marilyn Monroe with dignity and grace.Ó At Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park on Thursday, August 5, 2021 in Los Angeles, Calif.

Actress Renee Taylor, 88, mourns her friend and classmate, Marilyn Monroe. Taylor and Monroe were in Lee StrasbergÕs acting class together. ÒI donÕt think she got credit for her great performances. I think it was a sexist thing. She would stand in front of everybody and be critiqued in class. It was impressive that she would be vulnerable like that.Ó Taylor spoke at the memorial service and recounted how Monroe shared beauty tips with her. Monroe told her the secret to soft skin was to be covered in Vaseline while taking baths for hours at a time. She also told Taylor that eating grapes would help. Taylor tried both and said neither was the success she hoped for. Regarding her outfit today: ÒWhenever I go to someoneÕs funeral, I think what would they like to see me in?Ó Thursday, August 5, 2021 in Los Angeles, Calif.

Joe DiMaggio, MonroeÕs ex-husband, had six red roses delivered three times a week to her crypt for over 20 years, according to Susan Hail, owner of the Parisian Florist. They delivered over 18,000 roses in all. Then one day, DiMaggio came into the shop and said ÒthatÕs enoughÓ and discontinued the deliveries. MonroeÕs funeral and casket piece was one of HailÕs fatherÕs first jobs as a florist. DiMaggio organized the service and kept out the Hollywood elite. The family owned shop continues to operate and provides flowers for many of MonroeÕs friends and fans who continue to honor her. ÊHail remembers hearing about it, but was too young to really remember it vividly. ÊJoe DiMaggio only allowed his flowers at MarilynÕs funeral. No one elseÕs flowers were allowed in. Friday, May 28, 2021 in Los Angeles, Calif.

The 26 foot tall, 24,000 pound stainless steel and aluminum sculpture ÒForever MarilynÓ is installed in Palm Springs to promote tourism during the Covid-19 pandemic at a reported cost of one million dollars. Some believe she can reverse the slumping tourist industry and save local businesses. Adam Garey removes the cloth protective cover from her face. Garey is Supervisor of Fabrication, Metal Chasing, and Installations at the Seward Johnson Atelier. Thursday, June 17, 2021 in Palm Springs, Calif.

"Cher-Javier" is a female impersonator of Marilyn Monroe. "I have tons of books about her. What inspires me about her is her rise from the tragic life she led. ItÕs unbelievable. She was just this little orphan girl." Sunday, June 20, 2021 in Palm Springs, Calif.

The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel swimming pool is the site of a Marilyn Monroe photo shoot held in 1951. Monroe also stayed at this hotel in the mid 1950s. Tonight, in honor of her 95th birthday, the hotel is screening ÒSome Like it Hot,Ó one of MonroeÕs most famous movies. In the foreground is Marilyn impersonator Jessica ÒSugarÓ Kiper and her husband Nicholas Critelli. Kiper won the eveningÕs Marilyn Monroe look-a-like contest with a prize of a nightÕs stay in the ÒMarilyn Monroe Suite.Ó ÒI discovered my femininity via Marilyn when I was young, poor, and sad at age 12, when a couple of adults told me I resembled her. I started performing as her at 16. I identified with her and looked up to her. When I came to Los Angeles at 19, my first agent was The William Morris Agency, just like her! IÕve enjoyed paying homage to her all these years,Ó said Kiper. Tuesday, June 1, 2021 in Los Angeles, Calif.

Ezequiel Banuelos, 25, from Torrance, visits the crypt on Marilyn MonroeÕs 95th birthday. ÒShe is a very big inspiration, and someone who helped me get through the toughest of times. I met her in a previous life and sheÕd tell me ÔdonÕt worry, youÕll get through this.' IÕm older now than how I look. My real age is 126. How Marilyn and I met was in a grocery store in downtown LA in 1954. I saw her walking by and I easily recognized her. I asked her out to be my girlfriend, but she told me sheÕd just gotten married to Joe DiMaggio. We were very close friends. I was seeing her every now and then in the area. The last time I saw her was in 1960. I was devastated when she died. I was told she died from an overdose but I have my doubts. When I knew her, she was perfectly fine. She was in abusive marriages and had miscarriages. But I donÕt know about the drug use. Not everybody believes in the whole past lives thing. I donÕt share it. Banuelos explained he is wearing clothes similar to what Marilyn would have seen people wearing in the 1950s. At Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park on Tuesday, June 1, 2021 in Los Angeles, Calif.

Steve Gonzales, 54, cleans Marilyn's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. ÒI was born in love with Marilyn Monroe. What I'm doing, that's just love. Who's more crowned as the queen of Hollywood than Marilyn? I haven't been here since March, 2020 because I've been too scared of Corona. Look what I just did, I could have gotten Corona on me. I feel better that I did some love. I finally got the courage to do it now. I just had to do it today. Before Corona I cleaned one time per month, depending on how nasty it was. I cleaned every month here for 5 years. It's clean for the fans. Maybe Marilyn's out there and she saw me. I don't really believe that, but I like to think that. I never met this person in my life. This is what's absurd. I was born after she had already died. I grew up in Salinas. If you don't know Norma Jean was a beauty queen and artichoke queen, there's something wrong. I'm homeless. It's like an emergency near death experience every day here and then you add corona on top.Ó Friday, April 2, 2021 in Los Angeles, Calif.

CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA, CA - September 02: A portrait of Oscar-winning director Clint Eastwood, 91, photographed with an 8x10-inch film camera, amongst the oak trees, on the grounds of his Tehama Golf Club, in Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA, in support of his newest film, which he also stars in, “Cry Macho,” Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021.

Los Angeles, CA - July 06: With public pools in most major cities closed, lessons are hard to come by, in particular in neighborhoods of color. Swim teacher Symone Martin holds Melody Taylor, 8, during a lesson at a friends pool in the Baldwin Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA, Tuesday, July 6, 2021. Taylor and her siblings, Harmony, 10 and Sam,2, have been taking 35-40 minute lessons with Martin for about three weeks. Martin has been teaching swimming for almost six years and finds herself in this pool Monday through Saturday with lessons.

Los Angeles, CA - March 14: Noah Cyrus is prepped by a COVID-19-safe stylist for her moment on the red carpet at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, at the Los Angeles Convention Center, in downtown Los Angeles, CA, Sunday, March 14, 2021.

More than 100 people dressed in costumes (mostly witches) participate in a Halloween stand-up paddle, with a few kayaks, around Redondo Beach Harbor, Oct. 31, 2021.

Sherman Oaks, CA - March 24: Actress Eiza González is photorgraphed in the backyard of her Sherman Oaks, CA, home, on Wednesday, March 24, 2021. González will be in the upcoming blockbuster, “Godzilla vs. Kong,” and earlier this year, had a starring role alongside Rosamund Pike in Netflix’s, “I Care A Lot.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Carson, CA - October 25: Life-long Carson resident Brandi Murdock, left, gets emotional while speaking with California state Senator Mark Bradford about the continuing foul odor in the city, following a press conference with Carson Mayor Lula Davis-Holmes, at Carson City Hall, in Carson, CA, Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. The Carson City Council urged Los Angeles County and Governor Newsom to each issue a proclamation of emergency.

VENICE, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Actress Soleil Moon Frye is photographed at the beach in Venice, CA, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021, in promotion of the reboot of her 80s sitcom, “Punky Brewster,” and the premier of the documentary, “Kid 90,” which she directed. Punky will stream exclusively on Peacock and her film will stream on Hulu.

AFI FESTThe return of AFI Fest, a film festival sponsored by the American Film Institute, lit up Hollywood Blvd and the TCL Chinese Theatre, but it came with many COVID-19 safety protocols, namely non-talent around the red carpet wearing masks and most people avoiding a gathering a fans hoping for autographs and photos with the season’s film stars.

Manhattan Beach, CA - December 14: Karsten Schroeder is airborn while kite surfing off Manhattan Beach, CA, as a winter storm clears from area in southern California, Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021. Schroeder, who’s been kite surfing for 10 years, said he wasn’t going to let one day of rain, or 30-knot gusts of wind, by his account, keep him from practicing the sport.

Hollywood, CA - November 10: June Spencer,6, daughter of cinematographer Alice Brooks, right and Sam Spencer, on the red carpet of the 2021 AFI Fest Opening Night Gala Premiere of Netflix’s, “tick, tick…BOOM!,” at TCL Chinese Theatre, in Hollywood, CA, Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021.

Hollywood, CA - November 13: Actress and director Halle and co-star Shamier Anderson, have a photo taken of them by Anderson’s brother Stephan James, right, on the red carpet of the 2021 AFI Fest Gala Premiere of Netflix’s, “Bruised” at the TCL Chinese Theatre, in Hollywood, CA, Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021.The film, Halle Berry’s directorial debut, following an aging mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, played by Berry, who accepts an offer to fight the top female MMA fighter, while also dealing with the return of a son she given up for adoption.

Hollywood, CA - November 14: Seen through a tilt-shift lens, tennis legend, Venus Williams, on the red carpet of the 2021 AFI Fest Gala Premiere of, “King Richard,” at the TCL Chinese Theatre, in Hollywood, CA, Sunday, Nov. 14, 2021. The film tells the story of Richard Williams, portrayed by Will Smith, and his raising of daughters Venus and Serena into the tennis champions they have become.

Hollywood, CA - November 10: Actor Andrew Garfield and director Lin-Manuel Miranda, on the red carpet of the 2021 AFI Fest Opening Night Gala Premiere of Netflix’s, “tick, tick…BOOM!,” at TCL Chinese Theatre, in Hollywood, CA, Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021.

Hollywood, CA - November 10: Alexandra Shipp takes socially-distant pictures with fans, before the 2021 AFI Fest Opening Night Gala Premiere of Netflix’s, “tick, tick…BOOM!,” at TCL Chinese Theatre, in Hollywood, CA, Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021.

Hollywood, CA - November 10: The mermain silhouette and polka dot outfit of actress Alexandra Shipp, seen with a tilt-shift lens, on the red carpet of the 2021 AFI Fest Opening Night Gala Premiere of Netflix’s, “tick, tick…BOOM!,” at TCL Chinese Theatre, in Hollywood, CA, Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021.

Hollywood, CA - November 13: Raina Menné, on the red carpet of the 2021 AFI Fest Gala Premiere of Netflix’s, “Bruised” at the TCL Chinese Theatre, in Hollywood, CA, Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021. The film, Halle Berry’s directorial debut, follows an aging mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, played by Berry, who accepts an offer to fight the top female MMA fighter, while also dealing with the return of a son she given up for adoption.

Hollywood, CA - November 14: Alexis Olympia Ohanian, Jr., center, strikes a pose, with mom Serena Williams, right and dad Alexis Ohanian, on the red carpet of the 2021 AFI Fest Gala Premiere of, “King Richard,” at the TCL Chinese Theatre, in Hollywood, CA, Sunday, Nov. 14, 2021. The film tells the story of Richard Williams, portrayed by Will Smith, and his raising of daughters Venus and Serena into the tennis champions they have become.

Hollywood, CA - November 10: Actress Vanessa Hudgens, left, and director Lin-Manuel Miranda pose for a picture before hitting the red carpet of the 2021 AFI Fest Opening Night Gala Premiere of Netflix’s and director Miranda’s, “tick, tick…BOOM!,” at TCL Chinese Theatre, in Hollywood, CA, Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021.

Hollywood, CA - November 13: Actress and director Halle Berry, with Ted Serandos, chief executive officer (CEO) of Netflix, before walking the red carpet of the 2021 AFI Fest Gala Premiere of Netflix’s, “Bruised” at the TCL Chinese Theatre, in Hollywood, CA, Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021. Serandos and Netflix played a major role the film industry during the pandemic, sending several big-budget films to their streaming service, either exclusively or with a limited theatrical engagement. “Bruised,” is Halle Berry’s directorial debut, following an aging mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, played by Berry, who accepts an offer to fight the top female MMA fighter, while also dealing with the return of a son she given up for adoption.

A year in filmAs the world came out from under the dark cloud of COVID-19, 2021 saw Hollywood return to movie making, with stars completing delayed projects and many A-list actors debuting their marquee movies. From Andra Day's debut performance as Billie Holiday, which earned her an Oscar nomination, to Kristen's Stewart's transformation as Lady Di. Anya Taylor-Joy won accolades for her chess playing role in a Netflix's hit, as well as a Big Screen singer in '60s London. The much anticipated Lady Gaga film, "House of Gucci," hit theaters, with Jared Leto hiding behind prosthetics and rock star Alana Haim left her musical sisters for a debut acting role in the Paul Thomas Anderson's, "Licorice Pizza." Lastly, we saw four-time Oscar winner, Dirty Harry himself, Clint Eastwood, at 91, direct and star in, "Cry Macho," and tabloid star and one-time-Bat Man, Ben Affleck, return to his acting roots in George Clooney's, "The Tender Bar."

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - JANUARY 14: Recording artist and actress Andra Day is photographed at the Viceroy L'Ermitage Beverly Hills, in promotion of her film, “The United States Vs. Billie Holiday,” in Beverly Hills, CA, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021. This marks Day’s debut as an actress, playing the iconic songstress during a period of racial and political strife, as the Federal Bureau of Narcotics launched an undercover sting against Holiday, in what can only be seen as retribution for her political actions with integrating her audiences and continuing to bring attention to racial violence, most notably with the song, “Strange Fruit,” describing lynching in the South. The film will be released on Hulu at the end of February, 2021.

CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA, CA - September 02: A portrait of Oscar-winning director Clint Eastwood, 91, photographed with an 8x10-inch film camera, amongst the oak trees, on the grounds of his Tehama Golf Club, in Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA, in support of his newest film, which he also stars in, “Cry Macho,” Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021.

Culver City, CA - August 06: Actress Anya Taylor-Joy, seen through a prism, has a big-screen role in "Last Night in Soho," but gained major recognition with an Emmy nomination for Lead Actress in a Limited Series, for her role in Netflix’s, “The Queen’s Gambit,” photographed in Culver City, CA, Friday, Aug. 6, 2021.

Los Angeles, CA - November 02: Oscar winning actor Jared Leto is photographed at home with an 8x10-inch camera, in promotion of his role in the film, “The House of Gucci,” in Los Angeles, CA, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. Leto plays Paolo Gucci, the former vice president and managing director of Gucci, spending six hours getting his prosthetics and makeup put on during filming.

West Hollywood, CA - October 29: Actress Kristen Stewart is photographed in promotion of her new film, “Spencer,” at The London in West Hollywood, CA, Friday, Oct. 29, 2021. In the film, directed by Pablo Larraín, Stewart portrays Princess Diana, during a Christmas holiday in 1991, when Diana decides to leave Prince Charles.

Los Angeles, CA - December 09: Musician and first-time actress Alana Haim is photographed in promotion of her new role in the film, “Licorice Pizza,” at Four Seasons hotel, in Los Angeles, CA, Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021. Haim portrays a young girl falling in love in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, in the 70’s.

Los Angeles, CA - December 13: Actor Ben Affleck is photographed during a day of promotion for his new film, “The Tender Bar,” atFour Seasons hotel, in Los Angeles, CA, Monday, Dec. 13, 2021. The George Clooney-directed film, has Affleck portraying an uncle, becoming an unconvential mentor to his nephew.

West Hollywood, CA - November 04: Pop star and lead actress Lady Gaga (Stefanie Germanotta) is photographed during promotion of her new film, “House of Gucci,” at The London, in West Hollywood, CA, Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. Gaga portrays Patrizia Reggiani, who marries into the Gucci family and because of her ambition, sends the family into a spiral of chaos, which eventually ends in murder.

An anti-government protester gestures his displeasure while taking cover at a clash with Lebanese police on Aug. 4, 2021, the grim anniversary of a deadly port explosion that killed more than 200 people in Beirut, Lebanon. Angry citizens were demanding accountability from government officials and trying to storm the parliament, a short distance from the main event marking the tragedyÕs first anniversary.

Palestinians hold a vigil in Gaza City on May 25, 2021, to condemn the killing of civilians, including children, in Israeli airstrikes. Before the May 21 cease-fire, the war between Israel and the militant group Hamas reduced homes and buildings in the Gaza Strip to rubble. The houses of three families were hit by the airstrike on May 13, the dawn of the first day of Eid al-Fitr. Abdul Rahim Mohammed Madhoun, 63, his wife, Haijar Abu Sharkh Madhoun, 60, and the wife, husband and four children of the Tanani family were killed; seven members of the Malfouh family were rescued. In total, 248 Palestinians were killed during this escalation, including 66 children. Egyptian mediators helped broker the cease-fire after 11 days of fighting between Israel and Gaza military factions. Egypt pledged to provide $500 million in aid to Gaza to contribute to the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

Hundreds of protesters attempt to storm the Lebanese parliament on Aug. 4, 2021, the grim anniversary of the deadly port explosion that killed more than 200 people in Beirut, Lebanon. The blast Ñ the third-largest non-nuclear explosion in history Ñ pushed out a fireball miles into the air, followed by a hemispherical shock wave that raced inland for six miles at supersonic speed. It ripped walls off buildings and transformed houses into deadly cyclones of glass shards and wood splinters. It flicked aside cars, trucks and even a lumbering cruise ship like so many marbles.

A soldier surveys the terrain out of the window of a UH-60 Black Hawk during a resupply flight toward an outpost in the Shah Wali Kot district north of Kandahar, Afghanistan, on May 6, 2021. The Afghan Air Force, which the U.S. and its partners have nurtured to the tune of $8.5 billion since 2010, is now the government’s safeguard in its fight against the enemy. Since May 1, the original deadline for the U.S. withdrawal, the Taliban have overpowered government troops, wrestling away control of territories and further denying Afghan security forces the use of roads. As a result, all logistical support to thousands of outposts and checkpoints — including re-supplies of ammunition and food, medical evacuations or personnel rotation — must be done by air.⁣

Sayed Muhammad, 40, left, teaches Zulikha, 8, and Balanasta, 9, as children attend a co-ed madrasa Ð a religions school Ð run by Muhammad, on the road to Arghandab District, Afghanistan, May 4, 2021. Arghandab, a district lush with fruit trees and famous for its pomegranates, peaches, mulberries (and marijuana), was recently liberated when government forces managed to claw back some of the gains Taliban fighters have made in the last six months around the districts surrounding Kandahar.

Nabeel Musa smokes from a hookah as he picnics along the salt-encrusted shore of the Dead Sea, near Ghor Haditha, Jordan, on April 10, 2021. In the past three decades, the Dead SeaÕs level has fallen almost 100 feet. The rate of loss is accelerating, as are the sinkholes; they now number in the thousands, like a rash spreading on the exposed seabed.

What images can capture a countryÕs collapse? The TalibanÕs offensive was relentless, steamrolling through city after city until the fighters reached the gates of Kabul. There was no last stand: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his coterie escaped on helicopters outside the country; U.S.-backed Afghan troops either surrendered, shed their uniforms and weapons or fled even as U.S. forces were still completing the withdrawal that would end almost two decades of war. What followed was chaos: Tens of thousands of Afghans mobbed the airport, desperate for a place on evacuation flights out of Afghanistan. For days, they ran a daily gauntlet at the checkpoints, facing guards Ñ from the government as well as the Taliban Ñ wielding ropes, truncheons, sticks, whips, rifle butts, shots in the air and Ñ when all else failed Ñ shots in bodies to keep their compatriots from the airport. Outside, the Taliban secured its grip on the city, but there were other dangers. One was an Islamic State suicide bomber, who slipped among the hordes around the airport gates before detonating his vest. The blast ripped through crowds of Afghans and foreign nationals. At least 170 civilians were killed in addition to 13 U.S. service personnel. Hundreds were wounded.The U.S. retaliated with a drone strike. But instead of ISIS-K, it struck a home, killing 10 members of the Ahmadi family, including seven children. It was a stunning yet fitting coda for a campaign whose victims had often been civilians. Days later, the Taliban finally overran the Kabul airport moments after the last American C-130 arced its way over the capitalÕs night sky.Meanwhile, the group rushed to commandeer the government, even as protests began against what many feared would be a return to its harsh interpretation of Islamic law Ñ a time when anyone who opposed Taliban edicts would face brutal beatings, amputation or execution. Although they insisted they were now more tolerant, reporters for the Etilaatroz newspaper, Nemat Naqdi, 28; and Taqi Daryabi, 22, showed that little had changed with so-called ÒTaliban 2.0.Ó When the pair covered a womenÕs rights rally, Taliban enforcers grabbed them, beat them with pipes and threw them in a police jail before they were released to a hospital. It was a portent of things to come in the new Islamic Emirate.

A military transport plane flies over relatives and neighbors of the Ahmadi family as they gather around an incinerated husk of a vehicle destroyed by a U.S. drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan. In August, life came to a standstill as the Taliban offensive reached the gates of the Afghan capital, sending it into a panic. President Ashraf Ghani escaped; American-backed Afghan forces pulled back. The Taliban swiftly took over a nation that had changed much since it first ruled two decades ago. Jarring, violent scenes followed, marking a tragic coda to a messy and controversial 20-year occupation. The U.S. was ending its longest war.

A child cries as a man carries a bloodied child on a road leading to KabulÕs airport. Others help a wounded woman on the ground in a scene of chaos as the Taliban secured its grip on the capital while tens of thousands of Afghans raced to the airport, hoping to be evacuated on U.S. military transport planes. Taliban fighters used gunfire, whips, sticks and sharp objects to violently rebuff thousands of Afghans on Aug. 17, 2021. At least a half dozen were wounded, including the woman and child.

Taliban fighters pray next to young Afghans outside a local mosque for evening prayers in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 26, 2021. In its nearly two-decade fight with the U.S., the Taliban worked at every turn to undermine the Afghan government, deriding its leaders as corrupt stooges whose forces could never protect citizens from the groupÕs ferocious attacks. But the Taliban is now in charge, and with power comes a daunting challenge: convincing Afghans Ñ many of them with bitter memories of the last time the fundamentalist group ran the country Ñ that it can govern and police as well as it can fight.

Anti-Taliban protesters mark AfghanistanÕs independence day by attempting to hoist the red, green and black national banner. They were often beaten by militant fighters, who newly controlled the streets of Kabul. About 200 people rallied towards the city center on Aug. 19, 2021, chanting ÒDeath to Pakistan, God Bless Afghanistan, Long Live the National Flag of Afghanistan.Ó

A wounded patient lies in the recovery unit at Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 26, 2021. A suicide bomber from the terrorist group ISIS-K struck Kabul airportÕs Abbey Gate entrance. The blast ripped through crowds of Afghans and foreign nationals. At least 170 civilians were killed in addition to 13 U.S. service personnel, and at least 200 people were wounded. The explosions complicated an already nightmarish airlift just before the U.S. deadline to remove its troops from the country.

Family members and neighbors of the Ahmadi family gather to examine the wreckage caused by a hellfire missile launched from a U.S. drone that targeted a vehicle parked inside a residential compound in the Khwaja Burgha neighborhood in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 30, 2021. The U.S. military says that the air strike was meant to target ISIS-K militants and retaliate for an airport bombing carried out by the terror group. Instead, it took the lives of 10 civilians Ð members of Emal AhmadiÕs family, including seven children. The U.S. would eventually call the strike a Òtragic mistake.Ó

A military transport plane departs overhead as Afghans hoping to leave the country wait outside the Kabul airport on Aug. 23, 2021. Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan earlier in August, more than 120,000 people were airlifted out of Afghanistan in one of the largest mass evacuations in U.S. history.

Mourners at a mass funeral look up and weep as the roar of jet engines drown out their wails in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 30, 2021. Fighter jets circled the hilltop cemetery where members of the Ahmadi family were burying 10 of their own Ð seven of them children Ð all victims of a U.S. drone strike. A full day before the U.S. military withdrawal approached its conclusion, death continued to haunt the war-torn country. The airstrike came in the wake of an airport bombing on Aug. 26 carried out by ISIS-K militants. The United States military claimed initially that it was targeting an alleged Islamic extremist who posed the threat of carrying out a similar attack. A month later, it reversed its position, but the Pentagon decided no American troops would be punished. Left to grieve and wonder, Emal Ahmadi could not understand how it could be that a family could die and no one be held accountable.

After the stroke of midnight, Taliban fighters from the Fateh Zwak unit storm into Hamid Karzai International Airport, while wearing American-made uniforms and brandishing American M4 and M16 rifles and riding U.S. pickup trucks on Aug. 31, 2021. For two weeks, Kabul’s airport was the last tether to America’s control in Afghanistan, its runways the site of a frantic airlift that spirited more than 120,000 people out of the country. But there was no more of that frenzied activity on the deadline of the U.S. withdrawal, hours after the last U.S. military transport plane rumbled into the night sky, closing the chapter on a 20-year U.S. intervention that ended the way it began: with the Taliban in control of Afghanistan.

Journalists from the Etilaat Roz newspaper, Nemat Naqdi, 28, left and Taqi Daryabi, 22, undress to show their wounds caused by beatings from Taliban fighters in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sept. 8, 2021. The two were tortured while in custody after being arrested for filming a rally for women’s rights. The demonstrations came just one day after the Taliban revealed an all-male interim government made up of stalwarts with zero representation for women or ethnic minority groups – their promise of a more tolerant rule clearly broken. “They didn’t let me resist,” Daryabi said of the brutality he and his colleague suffered. He said he was shoved to the ground, tortured and beaten unconscious. He was taken to a yard and water was poured on him. He was still there when they brought Naqdi. “We were shouting that we are journalists. But they didn’t care,” Naqdi said. “I thought they were going to kill me…They kept on ridiculing us, asking if we were filming them.”

Sometimes their words tumble out like the frantic beating of wings. The tears often flow, but now and then, an eye flashes with a glint of determination. 

Two months after the Taliban takeover of their country, Afghan women and girls inhabit a world transformed. The freedoms and expectations many have come to prize are vanishing as the militant group’s return to power after two decades has stirred profound sorrow over losses that may prove irredeemable. A generation of Afghan girls grew up having never known the lash of Taliban rule. The fundamentalist movement was toppled in the U.S.-led invasion launched in answer to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, ending the group’s five-year reign. But their black-and-white flags again fly over the capital. Their fighters patrol the markets; their preachers thunder in the mosques. Young women largely barred from school or jobs describe the nightmarish sensation of their mothers’ tales suddenly unfolding in real life. What was once said aloud is now whispered or not spoken at all. And for those of an age to have firsthand recollections of the Taliban’s cruelty, any moment of any day can feel like an old wound, opened anew.Taliban leaders in Kabul and other cities have sought to soften their image — one previously marked by stonings, amputations and public executions — suggesting their new restrictive measures are temporary. They place vague parameters around certain behavior, saying women can participate fully in society, but within the framework of their interpretation of Islamic law.In a stark symbol of the new order, the Afghan Women’s Affairs Ministry was abolished and replaced by one tasked with promulgating virtue and preventing vice — in essence, the former religious police. Some 124,000 Afghans, including tens of thousands of women and girls, fled the country in the massive airlift staged in the final days of American power. But millions remain behind, and defiance comes at a cost.

Lida, a 27-year-old young Afghan policewoman, thought that the most terrifying moments of her life might be behind her. She was badly injured in a roadside bomb attack in the line of duty and is now perilously identifiable, with visible burn scars that mark her hand and zigzag up her neck to the jawline. She is on the run, frightened for herself and for her family Ñ including the father who had adamantly opposed her joining the force. When the Taliban came to power and the Americans who had trained Afghan security forces departed, Lida burned the service uniform she once wore with pride. Her family destroyed her documents. Her extended family is suffering the loss of her government salary, afraid of being punished for her police career. Lida mourns the loss of a livelihood that sustained her and gave her a sense of purpose. In the eyes of her compatriots, whose traditions and views are shaped by patriarchy, a woman police officer is little better than a prostitute.Ê

Farah, a 30-year-old doctoral student, used to be amused when her little daughter imitated her. No more. She was terrified recently when the little girl cried out, “We want freedom!” after seeing a video of her mother taking part in a protest. She quickly shushed her child, fearing the neighbors would hear. Farah, who asked that only her first name be published, is a well-known activist from the northern province of Badakhshan. Her entire extended family, scared for her safety, has begged her to desist. A close friend was arrested and tortured. The Taliban takeover still feels unreal to her. “It’s very bad,” she said. “I still feel like I’m seeing a film.” But she is determined to stay in Afghanistan, even though she could probably find a way to leave. “The homeland is like the mother — we can’t leave the mother when she is sick,” she said. “My country is sick. I can’t leave.”

When Mahbouba Seraj talks about her fears, an unusual thing happens: She sounds more indomitable than ever. At 73, Seraj is the doyenne of Afghan womenÕs rights activists Ñ a stature and status that put her in the crosshairs of Taliban rulers. ÒOf course IÕm afraid,Ó she said. ÒEveryoneÕs afraid.Ó But Seraj, who spent more than a quarter-century in exile in the United States before returning in 2003 to help build a womenÕs movement and womenÕs institutions, is standing fast in her refusal to leave, and to find ways of continuing her work. She thinks there is much to be learned from the two-decade-long U.S. presence in Afghanistan. The role of Afghan women was vastly elevated, she said Ñ but in allocating aid and jobs, outsiders also trampled at times on the sensibilities of women reluctant to adopt certain Western mores. Now, she said, the countryÕs women must seek a new path.

Even more than other Afghans, members of the Hazara ethnic minority fear the Taliban. Nahid knows that all too well. In her mountainous province of Daikundi, the 25-year-old woman, who asked to be identified by a pseudonym, knew immediately that the Taliban takeover posed peril to her family. She had made a name for herself by working at a local radio station, and her husband is a government employee. International human rights groups have documented a number of anti-Hazara atrocities by Taliban fighters, who are mainly Sunni Muslims and frequently target the predominantly Shiite Hazara. Amnesty International reported more than a dozen execution-style killings in late August of Hazara in Daikundi province, with a 17-year-old girl among the victims. ÒMy only wish now is that the Taliban do not kill me and my family,Ó said Nahid, now in hiding with her husband and their child in the capital.Ê

Sakina, a 21-year-old, had $12 and a dream: becoming an entrepreneur. She was the first from her impoverished family to get an education. Her father disapproved, going so far as to strike her when she pushed ahead with her plan to open a workshare and study space. It became a success. But the Taliban came and the business collapsed. Women in particular were afraid to venture out. Now she has a chance to join an IT company in Turkey. ThereÕs a catch: The man who can get her the job and a visa wants her to agree to marry him, even though she told him she doesnÕt love him. But she knows there is always a man offering something not wanted or taking away something cherished. Sakina is trying to carry on, even though going to the near-empty center feels dangerous. She dresses inconspicuously and varies her route, hoping not to draw the attention of Taliban fighters. ÒI have a fear inside,Ó she said. ÒBut in my face and behavior I show them, ÔI am not afraid of you.ÕÓ

Fatima Roshanian was living dangerously even before the Taliban took charge. She published a feminist magazine whose content touched on taboo topics Ñ menstruation, virginity, domestic violence, choosing to remain childless. Its name in Persian, Nimrokh, means a face in profile Ñ meant to symbolize that women are half of the population, a voice that would always find a way to make itself heard. Almost immediately after the Taliban arrived on Aug. 15, a florist downstairs from the magazineÕs office tipped off the Taliban to their presence. The women hastily used a little portable stove to burn copies of the magazine and notes for articles in progress, and fled. Roshanian left the capital for a time, but has since returned. She moves from place to place. SheÕs careful how she dresses, and with whom she speaks. But she has kept a hardbound ledger with the magazineÕs first hundred issues. She wonders if it will ever publish again.

Fatima Roshanian was living dangerously even before the Taliban took charge. She published a feminist magazine whose content touched on taboo topics Ñ menstruation, virginity, domestic violence, choosing to remain childless. Its name in Persian, Nimrokh, means a face in profile Ñ meant to symbolize that women are half of the population, a voice that would always find a way to make itself heard. Almost immediately after the Taliban arrived on Aug. 15, a florist downstairs from the magazineÕs office tipped off the Taliban to their presence. The women hastily used a little portable stove to burn copies of the magazine and notes for articles in progress, and fled. Roshanian left the capital for a time, but has since returned. She moves from place to place. SheÕs careful how she dresses, and with whom she speaks. But she has kept a hardbound ledger with the magazineÕs first hundred issues. She wonders if it will ever publish again.

Lamar is 18, too young to have known Taliban rule. Until now. As a child, she was curious, like children everywhere, about her parentsÕ lives before she was born. Some of their recollections stunned her: She learned, for example, that her mother and her aunt were once beaten by the Taliban for shopping at the bazaar during prayer time. Lamar grew up after the U.S.-led invasion pushed the Taliban from power. The daughter of a prominent family with a father who served in the government of President Ashraf Ghani, sheÕd been raised to believe she could accomplish anything. She went alone to her university classes, shopped on her own. She dressed in Òjeans and tops Ð I didnÕt have a burqa.Ó When Kabul fell, sheÕd been preparing to take the English proficiency exams sheÕd need to continue her education abroad. But the Americans have left and the Taliban is back in charge. Her family is keeping a low profile, hoping for a chance to leave the country.Ê

Unlike many Afghan women, Sahar didn't lose her job when the Taliban returned to power. But something has changed: She has to pretend that a man is the one doing her work. It is a strange and dangerous masquerade for Sahar, who wants only her first name published. The manager of a large company, she is learning to stay out of sight to avoid Taliban fighters who often show up at her workplace. The 30-year-old no longer sits in her spacious office. A male colleague is there in her place, for show. Sahar has retreated to cramped quarters tucked away upstairs, amid the storerooms. In some ways, her predicament Ñ and the nervous playacting surrounding it Ñ symbolizes the diminished role Afghan women find themselves in. The Taliban leadership talks of women having a place in society, but also stresses the need to abide by Islamic law. So people dissemble, pretend. For Sahar and others like her, itÕs no way to live. ÒThis country,Ó she said, Òjust breaks you.Ó

Laila Haidari once presided over one of the most cosmopolitan spaces in AfghanistanÕs bomb-scarred capital, a cafe called Taj Begum. It was more than a place to eat and drink tea; it was one of the few establishments in Kabul where young Afghan men and women could mingle freely. Its lush gardens were a backdrop for afternoons and evenings spent talking of art and music. Even before AugustÕs Taliban takeover, Haidari was known to religious conservatives, and subject to a constant barrage of threats. The cafe, which employed recovering drug addicts who were ÒgraduatesÓ of a rehabilitation camp run by Haidari, was denounced as a den of iniquity. A brothel, or worse. Now, Taj Begum is no more. At 42, she does not want to leave vulnerable friends behind, but sees little choice but to flee Afghanistan. "I feel that I have fallen from the top of a mountain, and all my bones have been crushed,Ó she said. ÒAnd now I must bring my crushed bones together, and begin my life in another country.Ó

The Great Thirst is building up in Iraq, an ancient land once known as Mesopotamia – where humans are first thought to have started cultivation. Now, farmers are quitting as climate change and politics dry up a once-fertile land fed by two mighty rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates. ⁣⁣⁣⁣Another year of crippling drought and of competition with equally parched neighbors have meant there isn’t enough water to go around. Both Turkey and Iran have activated dams and tunnels to divert water from tributaries of the Tigris and Euphrates, leaving downstream Iraq with an acute shortage. ⁣⁣In desperation, Baghdad has appealed to its neighbors to help mitigate the crisis. ⁣The water scarcity is compounded by wider shifts in the environment. Berkeley Earth, a California-based climate science organization, found that temperatures in Iraq have increased at double the world average.⁣⁣ By 2050, the World Bank said in a report last month, a temperature increase of 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) and a precipitation decrease of 10% could cause Iraq to lose fully one-fifth of its available fresh water.⁣⁣ For many here, the changes mean the end of a way of life.

Ahmad Abdul Qader, a soldier, walks along the slow-flowing Sirwan river near Halabja, Iraq, on Nov. 28, 2021. Iraq is facing an unprecedented water shortage, calling into question the viability of farming in the land where humanity was thought to have begun agricultural cultivation. Political tension over water persists all the way beyond the mountains near Halabja, where the Sirwan forms the border between Iran and Iraq. One recent afternoon, Iraqi Kurdish forces Cmdr. Ahmad Abdul Qader walked down to the river. Though Sirwan means Òshouting river,Ó its sound was reduced to an indifferent burble. ÒThe Iranians only allow the water to come a few hours a day,Ó Abdul Qader said.

Dried out pomegranates are all that is left of the failed crop on a farm cultivated by Taha Yassin near Miqdadiya, Iraq, on Nov. 30, 2021. The farmer had begun cutting down his failed pomegranate trees because of water scarcity at his farm. This corner of Diyala province, which stretches from the center of Iraq to the countryÕs east, was once famous for its pomegranates. Everywhere you drove, youÕd encounter acres of trees laden with blood-red baubles. Yassin had three fields and a vineyard. ÒIf you saw this area 10 years before, I swear you would think youÕre in Eden,Ó he said. ÒBut thereÕs just no water. We couldnÕt do it anymore.Ó

A worker pauses for a break while unloading agricultural produce for sale at the Dora market in BaghdadÕs Abu Disheer neighborhood Dec. 2, 2021. Farmers and traders congregate in one of the cityÕs central produce markets. In the past, much of the merchandise would have been Iraqi. These days, most of the produce comes from Iran, Syria, Egypt and Yemen.

Sheep forage amid the parched ground at Lake Hamrin, Iraq, on Nov. 27, 2021. IraqÕs water crisis can be seen in Lake Hamrin, an artificial 130-square-mile reservoir. On Google Maps, it shows up as a blue dagger stabbing the heart of Diyala. The Diyala-Kirkuk highway threads through the daggerÕs tip. Years ago, authorities had to shore up the highwayÕs sides because the water lapped its edge. But now the basin is bone-dry.

The receded waterline is visible at Darbandikhan Dam in Iraq on Nov. 28, 2021. By November, the authorities at the dam should have been releasing water at a rate of about 6,600 gallons per second. They were also supposed to get double that amount from Iran, which controls 70% of the damÕs 7,000-square-mile catchment area and which recently activated a 29-mile diversionary tunnel siphoning away most of the Sirwan River. That and the lack of rain have dried up the damÕs inflows to one-fifth of what was expected.

Rahman Khani has a front-row view of IraqÕs water crisis. It falls to Khani, the director of the Darbandikhan Dam, to regulate river flows to farmers as far as Basra, in IraqÕs deep south. ÒJust look out the window and youÕll see it,Ó he said, pointing to a discolored line on one of the damÕs towers where the water once reached. It was more than 23 feet above the current level. ÒYouÕre telling me the view from here is nice. But for me, itÕs a source of worry.Ó

Young men lob rocks at the Lebanese police while taking cover using makeshift wood panels found on shuttered storefronts in Beirut, Lebanon, on Aug. 4, 2021. LebanonÕs financial crisis, which erupted in 2019, has driven nearly half the population of six million into poverty, wiped out jobs and savings and slashed consumer purchasing power. The collapse of the Lebanese pound was the last straw for many who have seen prices of consumer goods such as diapers and cereals nearly triple since the crisis began.

A man smokes while picnicking with friends along the Diyala river near Miqdadiya, Iraq, on Nov. 27, 2021. By 2050, the World Bank said in a report last month, a temperature increase of 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) and a precipitation decrease of 10% could cause Iraq to lose fully one-fifth of its available fresh water.⁣⁣ For many here, the changes mean the end of a way of life.

A woman is rescued from tear gas smoke amidst clashes between anti-government protesters and Lebanese police outside the parliament area in Beirut, Lebanon, on Aug. 4, 2021. The first anniversary of a massive port explosion comes after the country has suffered an unprecedented economic crisis, currency devaluation, and a political deadlock that has left the people of Lebanon without a proper functioning government for the past year.

It is the 1-year anniversary of the deadly Port explosion that left more than 200 people dead, thousands more wounded and 300,000 homeless. The still-unresolved aftermath has fueled unrest and anger. Despite early promises of swift justice for those responsible, a year has passedÊwith the investigation all but stalled. Officials have instead tussled over petty jurisdictional issues, shrugged off investigatorsÕ summons and claimed ignorance of basic facts. Since then, Lebanon has suffered an unprecedented economic crisis, currency devaluation, and a political deadlock which has left the country without a proper functioning government for the past year. After tens of thousands march rally on the seaside highway to peacefully observe the grim day, anti-government protesters gather to clash with riot police as they try to storm a compound near the Parliament area in downtown Beirut on Aug. 4, 2021.

Anti-government protesters raise their shirts to prove to other protesters that they arenÕt undercover agents carrying hidden weapons as they ferry water, rocks and other supplies during clashes in Beirut, Lebanon, on Aug. 4, 2021. In scenes on the port explosion anniversary, a dichotomy among the people of Lebanon is apparent: In the daytime, tens of thousands march on a seaside highway to peacefully observe the grim day; as evening falls, anti-government protesters clash with riot police as they try to storm a compound near the parliament area in downtown Beirut.

An anti-government protester gestures his displeasure while taking cover at a clash with Lebanese police on Aug. 4, 2021, the grim anniversary of a deadly port explosion that killed more than 200 people in Beirut, Lebanon. Angry citizens were demanding accountability from government officials and trying to storm the parliament, a short distance from the main event marking the tragedyÕs first anniversary.

A Lebanese police officer in riot gear reloads his weapon as authorities push back violent anti-government protesters trying to storm the compound near the parliament area in Beirut, Lebanon, on Aug. 4, 2021.

Hundreds of protesters attempt to storm the Lebanese parliament on Aug. 4, 2021, the grim anniversary of the deadly port explosion that killed more than 200 people in Beirut, Lebanon. The blast Ñ the third-largest non-nuclear explosion in history Ñ pushed out a fireball miles into the air, followed by a hemispherical shock wave that raced inland for six miles at supersonic speed. It ripped walls off buildings and transformed houses into deadly cyclones of glass shards and wood splinters. It flicked aside cars, trucks and even a lumbering cruise ship like so many marbles.

An anti-government protester hurls rocks at Lebanese security forces near the parliament area in Beirut, Lebanon, on Aug. 4, 2021. The still-unresolved aftermath of a deadly port explosion has fueled unrest and anger. Despite early promises of swift justice for those responsible, a year has passed with the investigation all but stalled. Officials have instead tussled over petty jurisdictional issues, shrugged off investigatorsÕ summons and claimed ignorance of basic facts. (ÒI didnÕt know what ammonium nitrates wereÓ has become a common interview response.)

Young men lob rocks at the Lebanese police while taking cover using makeshift wood panels found on shuttered storefronts in Beirut, Lebanon, on Aug. 4, 2021. LebanonÕs financial crisis, which erupted in 2019, has driven nearly half the population of six million into poverty, wiped out jobs and savings and slashed consumer purchasing power. The collapse of the Lebanese pound was the last straw for many who have seen prices of consumer goods such as diapers and cereals nearly triple since the crisis began.

Anti-government protesters rest in the middle of the road after demonstrators retreat from clashes near the parliament area of Beirut, Lebanon, on Aug. 4, 2021, the grim anniversary of a deadly port explosion. The disaster left more than 200 people dead, thousands wounded and 300,000 homeless.

A woman is rescued from tear gas smoke amidst clashes between anti-government protesters and Lebanese police outside the parliament area in Beirut, Lebanon, on Aug. 4, 2021. The first anniversary of a massive port explosion comes after the country has suffered an unprecedented economic crisis, currency devaluation, and a political deadlock that has left the people of Lebanon without a proper functioning government for the past year.

Lebanese police in riot gear and in vehicles push back anti-government protesters after several hours of violent clashes near the parliament area in Beirut, Lebanon, on Aug. 4, 2021. As night falls, protesters are forced to take the route passing the only reminder of the deadly blast Ð the ruined silos Ð which acted as a shield for the western part of the city that still barely stands. Leaning more by the day toward the sea, their disemboweled husks now hang, like the country, in a state of slow-motion collapse. And whether to raze or preserve them has raised urgent questions about how best to remember that Tuesday evening and its still-unresolved aftermath.

Anti-government protesters raise their shirts to prove to other protesters that they arenÕt undercover agents carrying hidden weapons as they ferry water, rocks and other supplies during clashes in Beirut, Lebanon, on Aug. 4, 2021. In scenes on the port explosion anniversary, a dichotomy among the people of Lebanon is apparent: In the daytime, tens of thousands march on a seaside highway to peacefully observe the grim day; as evening falls, anti-government protesters clash with riot police as they try to storm a compound near the parliament area in downtown Beirut.

A Lebanese police officer in riot gear reloads his weapon as authorities push back violent anti-government protesters trying to storm the compound near the parliament area in Beirut, Lebanon, on Aug. 4, 2021.

An anti-government protester hurls rocks at Lebanese security forces near the parliament area in Beirut, Lebanon, on Aug. 4, 2021. The still-unresolved aftermath of a deadly port explosion has fueled unrest and anger. Despite early promises of swift justice for those responsible, a year has passed with the investigation all but stalled. Officials have instead tussled over petty jurisdictional issues, shrugged off investigatorsÕ summons and claimed ignorance of basic facts. (ÒI didnÕt know what ammonium nitrates wereÓ has become a common interview response.)

Anti-government protesters rest in the middle of the road after demonstrators retreat from clashes near the parliament area of Beirut, Lebanon, on Aug. 4, 2021, the grim anniversary of a deadly port explosion. The disaster left more than 200 people dead, thousands wounded and 300,000 homeless.

Lebanese police in riot gear and in vehicles push back anti-government protesters after several hours of violent clashes near the parliament area in Beirut, Lebanon, on Aug. 4, 2021. As night falls, protesters are forced to take the route passing the only reminder of the deadly blast Ð the ruined silos Ð which acted as a shield for the western part of the city that still barely stands. Leaning more by the day toward the sea, their disemboweled husks now hang, like the country, in a state of slow-motion collapse. And whether to raze or preserve them has raised urgent questions about how best to remember that Tuesday evening and its still-unresolved aftermath.