Big Party in the Big Easy

NEW ORLEANS - FEBRUARY 05: A reveler dances in the Krewe of Mondo Kayo on Mardi Gras day, February 5, 2008 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Mardi Gras day, or Fat Tuesday, is a celebration the day before Lent begins on the Christain calender. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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NEW ORLEANS - FEBRUARY 05: A group of revelers celebrate on Mardi Gras day, February 5, 2008 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Mardi Gras day, or Fat Tuesday, is a celebration the day before Lent begins on the Christain calender. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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NEW ORLEANS - FEBRUARY 05: A float in the Zulu parade passes along Canal Street on Mardi Gras day, February 5, 2008 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Mardi Gras day, or Fat Tuesday, is a celebration the day before Lent begins on the Christain calender. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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NEW ORLEANS - FEBRUARY 05: King Zulu waves to the crowd as his parade passes along Canal Street on Mardi Gras day, February 5, 2008 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Mardi Gras day, or Fat Tuesday, is a celebration the day before Lent begins on the Christain calender. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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NEW ORLEANS - FEBRUARY 05: Mary Alice Nelson (L) and Merna Carpenter dress as political candidates on Mardi Gras day, February 5, 2008 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Mardi Gras day, or Fat Tuesday, is a celebration the day before Lent begins on the Christain calender. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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Members of the Krewe of Mondo Kayo parade down St. Charles Avenue while celebrating Mardi Gras Day in New Orleans February 5, 2008. REUTERS/Sean Gardner (UNITED STATES)
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Women dressed as brides walk along St. Charles Avenue while celebrating Mardi Gras Day in New Orleans February 5, 2008. REUTERS/Sean Gardner (UNITED STATES)
Reuters
Members of the Krewe of Mondo Kayo parade down St. Charles Avenue while celebrating Mardi Gras Day in New Orleans February 5, 2008. REUTERS/Sean Gardner (UNITED STATES)
Reuters
Jerry Reynolds of the Walking Warriors has his face sprayed to set the paint as he prepares to march in the Krewe of Zulu Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008. Carnival revelers prepared for Fat Tuesday festivities. (AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt)
AP
Bruce Sunpie'' Barnes at the Back Street Cultural Museum discussing the costumes he is making for the Mardi Gras Skull and Crossbones Gang in New Orleans Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2008. The long time tradition of the Mardi Gras Skull and Crossbones was dying out until Barnes , chef of the Mardi Gras Skull and Crossbones and his group revived it eight years ago. (AP Photo/Judi Bottoni)
AP

Pictures of the Week

Men play with snow in Amman Jan. 31. A heavy overnight snowstorm blanketed Jordan Wednesday, closing schools and stores and grounding public transportation.
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Muhammad Hamed, Reuters
Parliament, Westminster Bridge and the River Thames are enveloped in fog Jan. 28 in London.
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Peter Macdiarmid, Getty Images
A crowd gathers near the body of a man who was reportedly shot by police in the central Kenyan town of Nakuru Jan. 26. What started as post-election riots rapidly descended into settling of tribal vendettas, with marauding gangs armed with machetes, metal bars, and bows and arrows stalking parts of the west of the country, which until the crisis was seen as a beacon of democracy and stability in the troubled east African region. The death toll from weeks of violence has topped 800 and is rising. Vote for best photo
Walter Astrada, AFP / Getty Images
Hostages held in a branch of the Banco Provincial in Altagracia de Orituco, in the Venezuelan state of Guarico, plead for help from the window of the bank Jan. 29. Four would-be bank robbers armed with rifles and grenades have been holding up to 50 people hostage for almost 24 hours. Authorities allowed the captors to leave the bank with five hostages being used as human shields. The other hostages were unharmed and the five being used as shields were later released unharmed. Vote for best photo
Juan Barreto, AFP / Getty Images
A couple check out their reflections on the underside of the 110-ton stainless steel Anish Kapoor sculpture called 'Cloud Gate' and nicknamed 'The Bean' at Millennium Park, Jan. 31, in Chicago.
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Nam Y. Huh, AP
Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton greets Sen. Edward Kennedy as her Democrat rival, Sen. Barack Obama, turns away in the moments leading up to President Bush's the State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress Jan. 28 on Capitol Hill in Washington. Vote for best photo
J. Scott Applewhite, AP
South Korean Marines blast their way through snow during a winter exercise in Pyeongchang, east of Seoul, South Korea, Feb. 1. Vote for best photo
Yoo Hyung-jae, Yonhap / AP
A jet passes above a balloon during the 7th Kaiserwinkel Alpine Ballooning Week in Koessen in the western Austrian province of Tyrol Jan. 29. Balloons from Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Norway, England, Belgium, Luxemburg and Austria participate at the competition.
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Kerstin Joensson, AP
Competitors make their way through an obstacle course during the Tough Guy Challenge at South Perton Farm Jan. 27 near Wolverhampton, England.
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Mike Hewitt, Getty Images
A rainbow is visible looking West from Palm Springs, Calif., Jan. 28, next to an array of wind turbines. Southern California has been hit with heavy rainstorms totaling more than 4 inches in some areas over a 24-hour period which has some experts on edge about the possibility of mudslides. Scattered showers remained in the forecast.
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Sandy Huffaker, AP