See our best illustrations and photographs that captured the year's biggest stories
Curated by the NBC News Digital Art Department
Dec. 21, 2023
Hundreds of young children have been strangled on cords from window blinds, shades and curtains in the past 50 years.
Illustration by Ibrahim Rayintakath
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a conspiracy theorist running for president. Experts fear his anti-vaccine activism threatens public health in America.
Photography by Mark Abramson
Rapper Armani White had a hit with his song “Billie Eilish” — before the track had even been released. It happened with the help of an indelible 16-second viral clip on social media.
Photography by Sinna Nasseri
Outrage over the state of the country’s waterways and the perceived impunity of water companies is piling pressure on the government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Photography by Alice Zoo
New research, involving millions of people worldwide over several decades, adds to worries that heavy use of high-potency cannabis could exacerbate the mental health crisis in the U.S.
Illustration by Kate Dehler
Illustration by Leila Register
As firefighters raced to hold back wind-whipped flames, they faced near-death escapes, blinding smoke, car-melting heat — and a battle they couldn’t win.
Photography by Josiah Patterson
The lawsuit mentions new details about the boy, who is identified as John Doe, and an alleged pattern of troubling behavior.
Photography by Carlos Bernate
The tribe says that, under an 1868 treaty, the federal government has a duty to ensure its people have sufficient water on a reservation where today thousands of residents do not have running water.
Photography by Sharon Chischilly
The abduction came after a series of missed opportunities in which Twitter and law enforcement failed to effectively intervene.
Photography by Kim Raff
The term has risen in popularity as a descriptor not for little girls, but for male actors and male-presenting characters.
Illustration by Leila Register
Senators weighed in on the double feature, pitching themselves as more of a "Barbie" or an "Oppenheimer" — or perhaps a “Barbenheimer.”
Illustration by Justine Goode
A mother said an educator “infected” her teenager with lies about gender. “I lost my son,” she told the school board. Her child tells a different story.
Illustration by Ibrahim Rayintakath
“There’s no good days anymore. There’s just all-right days,” said Brett Cross, who lost his son, Uziyah Garcia, in the mass shooting last year.
Photography by Jordan Vonderhaar
The region’s low-lying river delta can do only so much to stave off the rising sea, where even a few millimeters per year mean saltier water that wreaks havoc on coastal communities.
Photography by Fabeha Monir
After supply chain problems offered an incentive for new truckers, demand has dropped, and now drivers struggle to find work.
Photography by Tamara Reynolds
The conservative news outlet has amassed a fortune, growing its revenue by 685% in two years, according to tax documents.
Illustration by Chelsea Stahl
Bettersten Wade’s search for her adult son ended when she discovered that an officer had run him over — and without telling her, authorities buried him in a pauper’s field.
Photography by Ashleigh Coleman
The Tennessee nurse stayed quiet in hopes that her silence would quiet false claims of her death. Now, she says it only hurt.
Photography by Stacy Kranitz
From Brooklyn to Oklahoma City, a dozen new venues owned by queer women have opened their doors since 2020.
Photography by Danielle Amy and Akilah Townsend
In an exclusive interview with NBC News’ Lester Holt more than a month after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, eight families whose loved ones are believed to remain under Hamas captivity said they were desperate for their release.
Photography by Greg Kahn
Mass incarceration and gender inequality dragged the U.S. ranking in global inclusiveness index.
Illustration by Kelsea Petersen
Twitter makes it difficult to know for certain how many users are watching the ex-Fox News host’s straight-to-the-camera monologues. But data shared exclusively with NBC News offers a window into his digital footprint.
Illustration by Leila Register
“It reignites the terror in the souls of Black folks when we witness these killings of our people without trial, without jury, without adjudication,” one psychologist said.
Illustration by Leila Register
Some independent pharmacies are losing money on the pricey — and popular — drug.
Illustration by Liza Evseeva
"It's a shame," said one UFO researcher of the recent shootdowns of UFOs over North America that turned out to not be extraterrestrial craft.
Illustration by Justine Goode
At-home brain stimulation is flourishing among a group of enthusiasts, who say it gives them a mental edge. The science behind why it may work is still in the early stages.
Illustration by Liza Evseeva
