From front-page news to powerful moments you may have missed, this gallery showcases today’s top photos chosen by Associated Press photo editors.
Clothes hang for sale on the roadside on the outskirts of the port city of Bandar Anzali, along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea in Iran, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Senegal's fans cheer before the Africa Cup of Nations group D soccer match between Senegal and Botswana in Tangier, Morocco, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
A Scout band plays during the lighting ceremony of a Christmas tree at the Greek Orthodox Mar Elias Church, months after the church was the site of a deadly suicide bombing, in the Dweila neighborhood of Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
Young dancers wait to perform during a Christmas ballet event in Nairobi, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Samson Otieno)
Fans watch a live broadcast of the Africa Cup of Nations group D soccer match between Senegal and Botswana in Dakar, Senegal, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
People view the site of the Giza Pyramid, during the second day for visitors after the official opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
A boys looks at a journalist covering a protest by Vishwa Hindu Parishad, a prominent right-wing Hindu nationalist organization, accusing Bangladeshi groups of wrongly targeting Indians, in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
The Walled Off Hotel, designed by anonymous street artist Banksy and now an independent business, reopens its doors after more than two years closure following the Gaza war, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Riders from the Sar-e-Pul and Badakhshan teams compete in the final of Afghanistan's annual buzkashi tournament, a traditional equestrian sport in which riders score points using a fake goat carcass, on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. (AP Photo)
Fernanda Romero wrestles during a ticketed wrestling show in El Alto, Bolivia, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Women sell foodstuffs at a spontaneous market near a subway station during snowfall in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
An injured elderly woman looks out of her broken window as an apartment building was hit by a Russian drone during an aerial attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
People sing Christmas carols in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
The Holy Family Catholic Church is illuminated ahead of Christmas in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)
Seuk’s Army volunteer Katelynn Aldarondo cuddles with a dog brought from an overwhelmed Southern animal shelter to be flown to a foster and rescue group farther north, as they lie on the pavement between connecting flights at Culpeper Regional Airport in Brandy Station, Va., Nov. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
Travelers check their flight times on a information screen at O'Hare airport in Chicago, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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Clothes hang for sale on the roadside on the outskirts of the port city of Bandar Anzali, along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea in Iran, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Senegal's fans cheer before the Africa Cup of Nations group D soccer match between Senegal and Botswana in Tangier, Morocco, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
A Scout band plays during the lighting ceremony of a Christmas tree at the Greek Orthodox Mar Elias Church, months after the church was the site of a deadly suicide bombing, in the Dweila neighborhood of Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
Young dancers wait to perform during a Christmas ballet event in Nairobi, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Samson Otieno)
Fans watch a live broadcast of the Africa Cup of Nations group D soccer match between Senegal and Botswana in Dakar, Senegal, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
People view the site of the Giza Pyramid, during the second day for visitors after the official opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
A boys looks at a journalist covering a protest by Vishwa Hindu Parishad, a prominent right-wing Hindu nationalist organization, accusing Bangladeshi groups of wrongly targeting Indians, in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
The Walled Off Hotel, designed by anonymous street artist Banksy and now an independent business, reopens its doors after more than two years closure following the Gaza war, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Riders from the Sar-e-Pul and Badakhshan teams compete in the final of Afghanistan's annual buzkashi tournament, a traditional equestrian sport in which riders score points using a fake goat carcass, on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. (AP Photo)
Fernanda Romero wrestles during a ticketed wrestling show in El Alto, Bolivia, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Women sell foodstuffs at a spontaneous market near a subway station during snowfall in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
An injured elderly woman looks out of her broken window as an apartment building was hit by a Russian drone during an aerial attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
People sing Christmas carols in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
The Holy Family Catholic Church is illuminated ahead of Christmas in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)
Seuk’s Army volunteer Katelynn Aldarondo cuddles with a dog brought from an overwhelmed Southern animal shelter to be flown to a foster and rescue group farther north, as they lie on the pavement between connecting flights at Culpeper Regional Airport in Brandy Station, Va., Nov. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
Travelers check their flight times on a information screen at O'Hare airport in Chicago, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
ATLANTA (AP) — Three inmates who escaped from a jail east of Atlanta, including one who was being held on a murder charge, used jail phones to call friends on the outside who met them and arranged a Lyft ride to whisk them out of Georgia, authorities said Tuesday.
The inmates, who were captured in south Florida, were able to “compromise” a portion of a cell inside the DeKalb County Jail to make their escape, said DeKalb County Chief Deputy Temetris Atkins. He didn't provide more specifics because jailers don't want other inmates to know the facility's weaknesses.
“We repaired the area that was compromised, and we’re looking at other areas that are similar to that to fortify them to make sure that they are not compromised in the same manner,” Atkins said at a Tuesday news conference.
DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox described the jail as an “aging facility that’s deteriorating right before our eyes.” The jail is in Decatur, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) east of downtown Atlanta.
The escape was discovered early Monday during a routine security check, authorities said. All three inmates were captured in Florida, said Eric Heinze, assistant chief inspector with the U.S. Marshals Service Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force.
After jailers realized the three were gone, investigators listened to recordings of conversations they'd had on recorded phone lines. They learned that one of the inmates had contacted people on the outside who helped them evade capture after the escape, U.S. Marshal Thomas Brown said.
The inmates were picked up by an unnamed man and taken to one of their girlfriends’ homes, Brown said. Then, a Lyft ride was arranged to transport them to an address in Florida, he said.
“As you can imagine, the Lyft driver is very traumatized by this,” Brown said.
The inmates range in age from 24 to 31, with the youngest one charged with murder and armed robbery. The other two inmates face charges that include armed robbery and arson.
The sheriff’s office had warned that the men might be armed and were considered dangerous after their escape.
The inmate accused of murder and armed robbery, Stevenson Charles, 24, has had several run-ins with law officers in Georgia and Florida. He had been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to multiple counts of kidnapping and bank robbery, a federal agent wrote in a Monday affidavit regarding the recent jail escape.
After being sentenced, the agent wrote, Charles was turned over to DeKalb County authorities on Dec. 5 to face the murder charge, details of which were not immediately available. A federal criminal complaint charging him with the escape does not list an attorney who could be contacted to comment on his behalf, and it wasn’t clear whether he has one at this early stage of the case.
In one of multiple cases involving Charles in South Florida, he is accused of meeting a man through the Grindr online dating application and then pulling a gun on him when they met in person at a Miami residence in 2022. Charles then drove the man to various Miami area banks, withdrawing money from the victim’s accounts, court records show.
DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox speaks to journalists Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, during a news conference in Decatur, Ga., about the escaped inmates who were captured late Monday. (Ben Gray /Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox speaks to journalists Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, during a news conference in Decatur, Ga., about the escaped inmates who were captured late Monday. (Ben Gray /Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
U.S. Marshal Thomas Brown speaks to journalists Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, during a press conference in Decatur, Ga., about the escaped inmates who were captured late Monday. (Ben Gray /Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)