2013: The Year in U.S. News (58 images)

Plebes take the oath of office during a ceremony on Induction Day at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland on June 27, 2013. The class of 2017 arrived at the Naval Academy to begin their summer training which will lay the foundation of the Academy's four-year professional curriculum. .UPI/Kevin Dietsch

Rick Whisenhunt of West Plains, Missouri, mourns his son US Army SFC Jerald Allen Whisenhunt who was killed in Iraq in 2008, at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, in Arlington, Virginia, May 27, 2013. On Memorial Day the nation honors its military veterans and those who have died in the country's conflicts. UPI/Mike Theiler

The Laser Weapon System (LaWS) is temporarily installed aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey (DDG 105) in San Diego, California, July 2012. The U.S. Navy announced on April 8, 2013 that it will deploy for the first time one of its ships that could be used for shooting down drones and disabling vessels. The prototype will be installed aboard the USS Ponce within the next year. The weapon runs on electricity so the cost is less than $1 per shot. UPI/John Williams/U.S.NAVY

The rising Mississippi River takes over the Lewis and Clark statue on the St. Louis Riverfront in St. Louis on April 19, 2013. Officials predict the Mississippi River to crest at 39.4 feet on the St. Louis riverfront on April 23. That is more than nine feet over flood stage. The record crest set back in 1993 was more than 49 feet. UPI/Bill Greenblatt