Russian female soldiers prepare to shoot with Kalashnikov rifles at a shooting range at the elite Tamanskaya division during the "Beauty in Epaulets" contest outside Moscow, March 5. The beauty contest aims to attract more women to the Russian army. Apart from their shooting skills, the contestants will be tested on their singing, ballroom dancing and cooking skills.
Hip To Be Christ
Artist Steven Sawyer sits in front of a painting titled ''Call to Repentance'' in his Versailles, Ky., studio Feb. 7. Sawyer, who describes himself as a Christian with no denomination, paints modern day Christ as a muscular hippy-looking dude, with long hair, blue jeans and a tattoo.
Lunch With Ronald
Two unidentified Muslim girls sit next to a Ronald McDonald statue outside a McDonald's restaurant in Kuala Lumpur Tuesday. Malaysia, a predominantly moderate Muslim country, has been one of Asia's most outspoken opponents of a U.S.-led strike against Iraq, warning that a war could alienate Islamic nations.
Let Freedom Fry
Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Administration Committee, right, and Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., announce that House cafeterias will replace "French" fries with "freedom" fries in protest of France's opposition to military action against Iraq.
Hurricane Wind
A General Motors technician is dwarfed by the laminated spruce wood blade of a giant fan in Warren, Mich. It is part of the huge fan at the world's largest automotive wind tunnel at GM's Aerodynamics Laboratory. Powered by a 4500 horsepower electric motor, the 43 foot diameter fan produces hurricane-force winds for the development of future vehicle designs.
Elephant Day
With keepers sitting on their necks, elephants eat various kinds of fruit during an elephant buffet at Maesa elephant camp in Chiang Mai, Thailand, March 13. About 70 elephants have been brought to participate in the ceremony to mark the country's Elephant Day.
Car Of The Future
Mark Bentley, of the Lincoln Special Engineering Operations stands looks into the bullet-ridden front windshield of a Lincoln Town Car in Dearborn, Mich., March 12. The growing demand for vehicles that offer protection from grenade blasts and rifle fire has prompted the Ford Motor Co. and General Motors to enter the armored vehicle business.
Monster Cheeto
Bryce Wilson, a disc jockey at KLGA-FM radio in Algona, Iowa, looks at a large, misshapen Cheeto, at the radio station where he works on March 13. Navy Petty Officer Mike Evans, stationed in Hawaii, bought a bag of Cheetos for his 3-year-old son and discovered the massive hunk of the cheesy food inside. The Cheeto was shipped to Algona.
Raisin' Hell
Golden Gate Bridge District sergeant Danie Gomez, right, tells two men dressed as raisins and Peter DeYoung, the raisins' handler, that the costumes must be removed because they were creating a traffic hazard on the bridge, March 12, in San Francisco. Bridge district spokeswoman Mary Currie says the men would have needed a permit because they wanted to stand on the sidewalk and wave to passing cars.