Tuesday September 11, 2001, New York, New York, USA

A businessman who has just escaped from the falling rubble of the World Trade Towers arrives in fresh air a few blocks away to grab a cigarette and a bottle of water.

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Wednesday March 22, 2006, Hughson, California, USA

Never Coming Home

At the end of November 2007, the death toll of American soldiers killed in Iraq reached 3,848, ranging in age from 18 to over 50. Most leave behind a widow, orphans, parents and friends who will never see them come home.

During a rain storm, a marine honor guard practices carrying the casket of Bunny Long, a Cambodian-American soldier from Modesto, California who was killed in Iraq.

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Sunday February 18, 2007, Arlington, Virginia, USA

Graves of US soldiers at Arlington

Over 3,100 Americans have died in Iraq. Many get the honor of being buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Section 60 in the cemetery is constantly expanding as casualties from the war in Iraq are buried there.

Lipstick left from a kiss decorates the tombstone of a soldier killed in Iraq.

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Sunday May 21, 2006, Washington, DC, USA

Never Coming Home

At the end of November 2007, the death toll of American soldiers killed in Iraq reached 3,848, ranging in age from 18 to over 50. Most leave behind a widow, orphans, parents and friends who will never see them come home.

At a ceremony on the Washington, D.C. mall to honor American soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, the children of slain soldiers surround Marine Kade Hinkhouse, who lost a leg in Iraq. The "Time of Remembrance" ceremony was the first time the government had brought together families of the military who have been killed in action.

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Sunday May 20, 2007, Washington, D.C., USA

Remembering the US fallen in iraq and Afghanistan

Senior military officers and families of American soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan attend a memorial ceremony for the dead called ""A Time of Remembrance" on the Washington Monument grounds. Many of dead men children attend the somber event.

Marine Commandant James Conway attends the ceremony for soldiers who died in Iraq and Afghanistan wars

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Saturday October 1, 2005, Waterbury, Vermont, USA

Never Coming Home

At the end of November 2007, the death toll of American soldiers killed in Iraq reached 3,848, ranging in age from 18 to over 50. Most leave behind a widow, orphans, parents and friends who will never see them come home.

Used paper tissues are all that is left just after military funeral services are held for Scott Mclaughlin, a member of the Vermont National Guard killed in Iraq.

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Sunday May 25, 2008, Ridgefield, Connecticut, USA

US flag for each soldier killed in Iraq and Afghanistan

Over Memorial Day weekend, the First Congregational Church in Ridgefield set up thousands of American flags on its lawn to pay tribute to the over 4,500 American soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

American flags to honor war dead for Memorial Day

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Tuesday February 5, 2008, New York, New York, USA

Fashion Week kicks off in New York City

Fashion Week in New York City showcases the world's top designers' new lines for the fall of 2008. Celebrities, the very rich, models, and the media all descend on Bryant Park and the midtown area to attend dozens of fashion shows, many of which are are considered exclusive access only.

Papparazi photograph a minor celebrity arriving for a Mathew Williamson show held on the far west side.

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Sunday March 9, 2008

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Sunday August 20, 2000, Somewhere In America, USA

Bill DeFord is an experienced, long-distance trucker, hauling large loads of freight across the interstates of America. It is a lonely job, with long hours, and surprisingly little pay, as high gas prices, federal restrictions on driving time, and large companies squeze out the independent truckers.

DeFord tries to freshen up in a truck stop bathroom for a day of driving, after spending the night in the back of his truck cabin on a pull out bed.

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Thursday May 29, 2008, New York, New York, USA

Innocence Project uses DNA to fee the wrongly-convicted

Barry Gibbs, a former postal worker from South Brooklyn, spent 19 years in prison for a murder after being framed by the notorious "mafia cop" Louis Eppolito. After being released and having his conviction overturned, Barry now lives in a Single-Room Occupancy hotel while waiting for his compensation suit against the city to wind its way through the court system. Founded in 1992 by Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld, the Innocence Project works on behalf of those who may have been wrongly convicted of crimes in the United States, using DNA evidence to exonerate them. As of April 29, 2008, 216 previously convicted defendants have been freed by the project.

Barry Gibbs inside his Single-Room Occupancy apartment.

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Wednesday May 7, 2008, New York, New York, USA

Elite New York women raise funds for Central Park charity

On 5th Avenue, invited guests arrive and depart at the Frederick Olmstead Awards luncheon, an annual charity event to raise money for Central Park and a major social event for the upper crust of New York City's society women. While most Americans continue to worry about the economic downturn, there appears to be a wealthy elite that remain somewhat unaffected by the unstable economy.

Outside of the luncheon, local school children walk past society ladies.

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Friday April 6, 2007, Bronx, New York, USA

Good Friday procession in the Bronx

On Good Friday, two days before Easter, St Joseph's Church in the Bronx leads a traditional procession through the streets of the Crotona neighborhood in which all twelve stations of the cross during the crucifixion of Jesus are reenacted.

Residents of the neighborhood watch the Good Friday procession pass by in the Bronx.

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Monday January 7, 2008, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA

Primary day in New Hampshire

Hillary Clinton campaigns for President in New Hampshire on the final day of before the primary. In polling numbers, she is behind her rival Obama.

Clinton at a breakfast meeting where she finally veered off script and almost cried.

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Tuesday January 8, 2008, Manchester, New Hampshire, USA

Clinton takes surprise lead over Obama

Senator and presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton celebrates her surprise victory in the New Hampshire Primary with supporters in Manchester. After a third place finish in Iowa, Clinton emerged victorious with a narrow 39-37-point lead over rival, Senator Barack Obama (D-IL).

Supporters wave small flags while laughing and cheering from the audience.

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Wednesday October 22, 2008, New York, New York, USA

Barack Obama merchandise lines NY wholesale district

The New York city neighborhood along Broadway and the west twenties is filled with cheap wholesale clothing, handbag, and fragrance stores. Now two weeks before the presidential election most of the clothing stores are selling huge quantities of different Barack Obama campaign shirts with no John McCain t-shirts or hats in sight.

Barack Obama shirts for sale at a wholesale store

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Thursday January 24, 2008, Kingstree, South Carolina, USA

On the South Carolina campaign trail with Barack Obama

Senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama (D-IL) is campaigning hard in the days leading up to the South Carolina, Obama is hoping to shore up his lead and deflecting the attacks of former President Bill Clinton.

Barack Obama (R) delivers remarks at a campaign rally.

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Wednesday November 5, 2008, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Guests celebrate Obama win at Jesse Jackson election party

At the Hilton hotel, across from Grant Park in downtown Chicago, the city's social and political black elite to Obama's victory. Democrat Barack Obama won the American Presidential election, defeating Republican John McCain, to become the 44th U.S. president.

African Americans cry and celebrate Barack Obama's victory

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Tuesday January 8, 2008, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA

Primary day in New Hampshire

Early election morning for the New Hampshire primary, Senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama (D-IL) held a campaign rally for students at Dartmouth College. Immediately after the event, students were directed to local polling stations by Obama volunteers.

Michelle Obama listens to her husband urge young people to become involved in the political process. Behind her hangs an oversized American flag.

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Thursday November 8, 2007, Fort Drum, New York, USA

Families welcome troops home from Iraq

Members of the 2nd Brigade combat team of the 10th Mountain Division Light Infantry return home from a 15 month deployment in Iraq. Fifty two members were killed in combat, and two soldiers are still missing. It was the 10th Mountain's 5th deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan since 9-11.

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Thursday December 13, 2007, Rocky Hill, Connecticut, USA

Homeless military veterans

Connecticut's Veteran Affairs Department has a veterans' home, hospital, and drug treatment center at Rocky Hill, just outside of Hartford.

Homeless Iraq war veteran Derik Waterman, 25, attends Rocky Hill's substance abuse program.

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Tuesday May 15, 2007, Guantanamo Bay

Guantanamo detention center

The US Navy base in Guantanamo, known as Gitmo, has become a detention center to deal with people who act as unlawful enemy combatants, operating outside any internationally recognized military, without uniforms, military ranks or other things that make them party to the Geneva Conventions. On June 4, military judges dismissed charges against a detainee accused of chauffeuring Osama bin Laden and another who allegedly killed a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan. The U.S. military's cases against the alleged al-Qaida figures dissolved because the government had failed to establish jurisdiction. They were the only two of the roughly 380 prisoners charged with crimes, and the rulings stand to complicate efforts by the US to try about 80 suspected al-Qaida and Taliban figures in military courts. The dismissal of the cases could end the war-crimes trial system hurriedly set up by Congress and President George W. Bush after the Supreme Court threw out the previous system. The dismissal has "huge" impact because none of the detainees has been found to be an "unlawful" enemy combatant. The Military Commissions Act specifically says that only those classified as "unlawful" enemy combatants can face war trials here. The Gitmo prison camps have been criticized by the international community for their harsh treatment of mostly Muslim prisoners.

A detainee paces in his cell in the maximum security Camp 6 on Guantanamo Bay US Navy base, which is built like a modern prison.

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Friday November 9, 2007, Fort Drum, New York, USA

Families welcome troops home from Iraq

In Fort Drum's gym, after midnight, military families wait for the 2nd Brigade combat team of the 10th Mountain Division Light Infantry to return home from a 15 month deployment in Iraq. Fifty two members were killed in combat, and two soldiers are still missing. It was the 10th Mountain's 5th deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan since 9-11.

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Wednesday March 5, 2008, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Homeless problem persists in New Orleans

In New Orleans, three years after the flood, a large homeless camp has moved underneath interstate I-10, which runs through the city. With a depleted housing stock, rising rents, and a culture of substance abuse, homelessness has become a major problem in New Orleans.

Two friends share a beer in their homeless camp underneath Interstate 10 in New Orleans.

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Saturday April 14, 2007, Three Points, Arizona, USA

Minutemen volunteers search for illegal migrants

Thirty miles from the Mexican border, Minutemen volunteers from across America spend time patrolling a large private ranch in the Altar Valley of southern Arizona, searching for "illegal" migrants making their way north through the harsh desert terrain. Although most of the Minutemen carry guns, they are under strict instructions to not chase or apprehend migrants, but instead to report sightings to the border patrol.

A Minuteman patrol inspects a large pile of trash and discarded clothes left behind in the middle of the desert by groups of migrants passing through on foot.

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Sunday May 27, 2007, Worthington, Minnesota, USA

Migrant workers in Minnesota

Worthington, a small town in south west Minnesota, is a center for immigrant labor, both "legal" and undocumented. Mexicans, Latin Americans, Laotians, and many others come to the area with their families to work in the meat processing plants, a job that many American born do not want.

A Laotian refugee, and now a meat packer at the main employer in town, Swift, watches over his children in front of his house.

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Thursday September 25, 2008, New York, New York, USA

Anti-bailout protesters converge on Wall Street

A protest on Wall Street against the government's $700-billion bailout started at 4pm and lasted past 7. Approximately 300 protesters participated. Demonstrators chanted slogans the likes of "You broke it, you bought it" and "bail me out to." Many shook cans of change. There was a police presence but it was light and protesters warned they would be back.

During rush hour, buisnessmen leaving Wall Street try to make their way through a crowded demonstration against President Bush's 700 billion dollar plan to bail out troubled Wall Street firms.

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Saturday March 8, 2008, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

It is dificult to romanticize certain aspects of life in the black Lower Ninth Ward during pre-Katrina New Orleans, including the neglected public school system. However, almost three years after the flood devastated the area, the neighborhood remains in ruins, a symbol of the very neglect that existed before the storm. The local Louis Armstrong elementary school was completely flooded, and remains empty and abandoned.

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Monday May 26, 2008, New York, New York, USA

Fleet Week Comes to New York

Fleet Week in New York offers locals and tourists alike, a giant celebration of the Navy and Marine Corps, with visiting ships open to the public. The annual event also includes sailors and marines participating in over a dozen local neighborhood memorial day parades.

A boy test fires a machine gun on top of an armored vehicle aboard the USS Kersage.

Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein / Polaris

Andrew Lichtenstein