Photos: Revisit 2016 through the year’s most powerful images

Ironworker Eric Madrigal makes preparations for the final section of a 295-foot-long spire that when bolted in place will be 1,100 feet above the ground, making the Wilshire Grand in downtown L.A. the tallest building in the western United States. The skyscraper is at Wilshire Boulevard and Figueroa Street.

A Ku Klux Klansman, left, fights a counterprotester for a flag after members of the white supremacy group arrived for a rally in February at an Anaheim park. Police say KKK members were attacked by protesters.

Firefighters battle the Sand fire as it burns out of control along Soledad Canyon Road near Acton in July.

Dodgers announcer Vin Scully is honored at home plate on his final Opening Day at Dodger Stadium. Scully retired in October after 67 years with the team.

Lakers Kobe Bryant greets Lamar Odom after one of Bryant’s final games at the Staples Center. Bryant retired in April after 20 years with the Lakers.

Sofia Vergara arrives at the 88th Academy Awards in Hollywood, CA.

A homeless person sleeps in a North Hollywood alley. Dozens of volunteers fanned out around neighborhoods in North Hollywood to conduct part of the 2016 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count.

Pope Francis departs from San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico. He spent six days in Mexico in February.

Pope Francis waves to crowds in February in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

All Lives Matter protesters come together for a group hug with Black Lives Matter activists in July in Dallas.

ET-94, the 15-story orange external space shuttle fuel tank, moves across Inglewood to its new home later at the California Science Center.

Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump in July at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

On the first night of the Republican National Convention in July, Donald Trump introduces his wife, Melania, before she addresses delegates.

Attendees at the Republican National Convention sing the national anthem.

Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton addresses her supporters in June at a rally in Brooklyn after clinching the Democratic party nomination.

First Lady Michelle Obama addresses the crowd at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

Florida delegates Luella McQueen, center, and Vincent Evans, right, listen to First Lady Michelle Obama speak at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

Hillary Clinton celebrating at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

Thousands gather for a memorial in downtown Orlando in June to honor those killed and wounded in the Pulse nightclub attack. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times)

Menar Hassan, 8, cries as doctors attend to her wounds caused by a suicide truck bombing in Iraq in November.

In September, a San Bernardino police officer and a woman try to help a gunshot victim found lying next to the curb after being shot in San Bernardino. There have been 150 shootings and 47 homicides so far this year in the city.

LAPD officers held the doors to Los Angeles City Hall shut in July as Black Lives Matter protestors tried to enter city hall after an announcement that an LAPD officer was justified in fatally shooting an African-American woman in an alley last year.

Dallas residents Daniel Bray and Emilie Bedell attend an interfaith prayer in July for five slain police officers.

“Ghostbusters” co-stars Leslie Jones, left, and Kate McKinnon clown around during a portrait session in July at the Four Seasons Hotel.

A series of storms during this “Miracle March” has caused Folsom and two of its neighbors, Lake Oroville, pictured, and Shasta Lake, to swell.

Rande´ Zell, of Laguna Beach, lives in an encampment along the 101 freeway near the Fountain Avenue overpass in May.

Schoolgirls in India play Kabaddi during recess in October. Had many of them not been placed into the school by the nonprofit organization Apne, they could have ended up in prostitution like their mothers and grandmothers.

Lil Buck, a performer known for a style of street dance called “Jookin,” practices on Fremont Street in Las Vegas in May.

Dustin Lynch performs against a dramatic May sky on the final day of the 10th Stagecoach Country Music Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio.

Evellyn Mendes Santos, 9, kisses her baby sister, Heloyse, in May outside of their home in Joao Pessoa, Brazil. Their mother, Maria da Luz Mendes Santos, said it was her “biggest dream” to have two girls.

Mike MIller, 21, surrounded by dozens of candles that mark the house where 18-year-old Carnell Snell Jr. was sho.

LAPD Sgt. Jack Richter helps a homeless man on Fifth Street during a city cleanup in April of skid row.

Clarissa Swikard, from San Diego, in April at day three of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.

Palmdale resident Nickolas Nottebrock is “The Joker” at Wondercon, the Los Angeles Comic-Con at the Los Angeles Convention Center in March. See more Wondercon photos.

In March, the Rolling Stones performed a free concert in Cuba. Read more

Ben Affleck, left, Henry Cavill, center, and director Zack Snyder of “Batman v Superman” in March. Read more

Sir Richard Branson, center, with employees at the unveiling of the new Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo in February. Read more

Birds soar above the Los Angeles River in Vernon after a January rainstorm. Read more

A view of downtown L.A. from Montecito Heights as a storm front creeps into the Southland in January.

Bryan Cranston plays President Lyndon Baines Johnson in the HBO film “All the Way.” Read more

“It’s been a tough year,” said Thomas Goodwin, 54, with his daughter Leilani Miranda Duenez Goodwin, 7, in the van that has been their home for several months. They participate in the ‘safe parking’ program in Santa Barbara. Read more

A man watches a memorable sunset that ended a mostly rainy day in the Los Angeles area as the first big storm rolled through the area.

A firefighting helicopter drops water on the Sand fire as it burns out of control near Santa Clarita in July.

San Bernadino County Fire hand crews overhaul a four-alarm fire that broke out in a wooden pallet yard in November.

On the frontline in the fight against ISIS in Mosul’s Cahra neighborhood in November, an Iraqi special forces soldier makes his way a lookout.

Rachel “Raquel” Phillips, a gravely ill homeless woman, talks with Anthony Ruffin of Housing Works, a nonprofit that steers homeless people into housing and services. Read more

In October, cellist Yo-Yo Ma plays with Jeffrey Kahane on piano during a Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra concert at USC. Read more

Chef Eddie Garcia displays tlayuda de chorizo y chapulines (tlayudas with crispy chorizo and toasted grasshoppers) at Cocina Condesa in Los Angeles. Read more

Migrants from Africa and Haiti, having just crossed an illicit crossing point along the Mexico-Guatemala border in October, use public transportation to Tapachula, Mexico.

Migrants from Africa and Haiti cross the Rio Suchiate in October on make-shift rafts along the Mexico-Guatemala border.

Actress Misha Reeves in one of several themed rooms inside “Creep, Los Angeles,” a haunted house experience located in a warehouse in the Glassell Park.

Neil Young and Paul McCartney at Desert Trip in October in Indio. Read more

Comedy legend Mel Brooks in October. Read more

Men confront LAPD after a vigil was held in October for Carnell Snell Jr., an 18-year-old fatally shot by officers following a vehicle pursuit.

In September, members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) gather in the remote Yari Plains for the final national conference as an armed group. Read more

A snorkeler searches out fish in August at Laguna Beach’s Cresent Bay, a marine sanctuary. Read more

Vivienne Lee, 7, of Thousand Oaks, jumps across rocks under the arches of a rock formation while watching the tide roll in at twilight at El Matador State Beach in Malibu. Read more

Joshua Tree National Park became a U.S. National Monument in 1936 and then became a national park in 1994. It’s made up of 790,636 acres and is a popular area for rock climbers, campers and nature lovers who appreciate its rugged beauty.

Police officers arrest protesters in July from the Revolutionary Community Party before they could burn a flag during a demonstration outside of 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

Protesters get into a heated argument at the public square during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July.

Trevor Leis of the West Ohio Minutemen stands guard outside the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July.

A protester chants “America was never great” while being taken into custody after a flag burning outside the Republican National Convention in July in Cleveland.

A blow-up likeness of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump holding a Ku Klux Klan hood is carried through the streets of Los Angeles amid a large crowd of protestors during a May Day march and rally.

Gilberto, damaged by the Zika virus, yawns as his mother, Josemary Gomes, works at the kitchen sink at their home in Brazil. Read more

San Bernardino County coroner and investigators open the trunk of a Nissan where the body of Jose De La Torre was found shot to death. There have been 150 shootings and 47 homicides so far this year in the city. Read more >>

Taylor Swift reacts to the win of Song of the Year by Ed Sheeran and Amy Wadge at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center in Los Angeles in February. Read more >>

Seth Moberg, 16, gathers belongings from his family’s house along Sand Canyon Road in July as the Sand Fire approaches in Santa Clarita. Read more >>

The Phillips 66 refinery looms over a Wilmington neighborhood where some long-time residents feel their health issues might stem from their proximity to the refinery. Yolanda Valdivia, 61, has lived in the neighborhood for 27 years and recently developed health problems.

USC Trojans wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (9) reacts after scoring on a touchdown pass from quarterback Sam Darnold in the first half of the Oct. 1 game against Arizona State at the L.A. Coliseum.

Rams quarterback Case Keenum stretches just short of the end zone on a two-point-conversion attempt late in the fourth quarter during a September game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium.

Dodgers announcer Vin Scully and former pitcher Sandy Koufax hug during Vin Scully appreciation night at Dodger Stadium. Scully retired in October after 67 years as the Dodgers announcer. Read more >>

Rapper Ty Dolla $ign performs at the Hollywood Palladium in September.

Rams Robert Quinn celebrates his sack of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson at the Coliseum during a game in September.

UCLA defensive back Randall Goforth intercepts a pass intended for UNLV wide receiver Devonte Boyd at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena during a game in September.

Hugo Ruiz II reacts to beating Julio Ceja in the 1st round of their fight Saturday evening at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

A dog falls off his board while riding a big wave in the small dog category at the Surf City Surf Dog competition in Huntington Beach.

Aly Dembry, left, and Rebecca Hambalek joined fellow UCLA students for a candlelight vigil in response to campus violence in June as the community mourned the deaths of two people on campus in a murder-suicide. Read more >>

Inside the tiny room of a Kolkata brothel, Shabnam, left, and her cousin Niya, are just two of many young girls in India fall prey to sex trafficking and the difficult odds of escaping it. Read more >>

Twelve-year-old Aarti Kumari combs her hair at the Kasturba Gandhi Girls School in the Indian state of Bihar. Many of the children at the school are the daughters of prostitutes. They are members of a marginalized caste known as the Nat community, which is trapped in a system of hereditary prostitution. Read more >>

Actor Dennis Haysbert photographed in the Los Angeles Times studio.

Everleane Mayfield, 84, looks into the coffin of her great, great, great niece, 1-year-old Autumn Johnson, during funeral services at Judson Baptist Church in Carson. Autumn was killed Feb. 9 when a bullet struck her as she lay in her crib at her family’s home in Compton that had been targeted by gunmen. Read more >>

Simone Biles competes on the beam during the first day of the Olympic trials in San Jose in June. Biles went on to win five gymnastics medals in August at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Dodger Yasiel Puig celebrates the game-winning run on an inside-the-park home run against the Washington Nationals in June.

Eulalio Lopez, known as “El Zotoluco,” performs in Tijuana on opening day of the bullfighting season in April. Baja California’s legislature postponed a vote a few days earlier that would have banned bullfighting in the Mexican state.

An MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft from the amphibious assault ship USS America lands at Naval Air Station North Island and Naval Amphibious Base in Coronado.

Anti-Trump protesters burn an effigy of President-elect Donald Trump outside City Hall in Los Angeles the day after the November election.

Sustainable cannabis famer Dillon Turner applies fertilizer to a crop of plants at Sunboldt Farms, a small family farm in Humboldt County. Some marijuana farmers are concerned that big business will take over the industry. Read more >>

With Catalina Island in the background, a surfer rides a wave near the Huntington Beach Pier.

Holiday shoppers on Black Friday at the Citadel Outlets in Los Angeles.

Sienna Al Moqtar and her daughter place rocks at the grave of her brother, who died in October in attacks by Islamic State in Qayyarah, Iraq. The bodies of two infant nephews are buried at right. Read more >>