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It was one of the biggest stories of the year – a selection of firsts American Pope – and one associated Press Journalist interviewing Pope’s brother at his suburban home chicagoSuddenly, they heard some ringing coming from the basement, “He could be the Pope,” said the new Pope’s brother,
Indeed, the man who a few hours earlier had emerged as Pope Leo XIV on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica was calling for a meeting with his elder brother. Obed Lammy, a video journalist, listened to and recorded the conversation over the speaker.
“I was trembling because I didn’t know what the Pope would say,” Lammy said. “Should I say something or say nothing?”
In a year marked by political conflict, natural disasters and other calamities around the world, 2025 also had moments of uplift. AP journalists were among many of them.
Some found happy stories amid the disaster, including a wedding in a storm-ravaged church philippines and a youth theater group that staged a production just weeks after the devastating wildfires in California. Some people became a part of the stories they were covering just by being there. In Seattle, an AP photographer delivers the news to a scientist that he has won a Nobel Prize.
Here are their stories.
the Pope was on the line
1. Lamy, a video journalist, was among several journalists who visited John Prevost’s home in New Lenox, Illinois, after his brother became Pope.
I arrived at Prevost’s house in the evening after driving three hours from Indianapolis, where I live. After passing other media persons outside, I knocked on the door. Prevost let me in.
As we were talking, a bell started ringing from the basement. Prevost hurried down to a tablet and I followed, my camera on. He found that he had some missed calls from his brother. He called the Pope back, using a speaker to play the audio loudly. Pope raised.
I Got My Chance – The voice of the new Pope talking to his older brother, asking him why he isn’t answering his calls.
“Well, first of all you need to know that you are in the air right now,” replied the older brother. “This is the first time I’m hearing that thing rang.”
The conversation lasted only for a few minutes. They talked like any other brother-sister duo. They told the Pope, “Oh, we’re coming to Rome.” And the Pope said, “Oh, where are you going to sleep?” It was interesting that the Pope himself did not know what housing for his family would look like.
giving news to a Nobel laureate
2. When the Nobel Prize in Medicine was announced, photographer Lindsay Wasson was sent home before dawn My E. Brunko, a scientist in North Seattle. Wasson broke his promise on the honor before the Nobel Committee reached Bronco.
When I arrived, I wasn’t entirely sure I was at the right house because my GPS had led me behind. After walking down a neighbor’s pitch-black street, I arrived at the front door. It was clear that no one was awake.
Thankfully, when I knocked, their dog started barking and woke up Mary’s husband, Ross, who spoke to me through the glass door. I identified myself and asked if Mary lived there and if he knew why I was there. I didn’t want to spoil it but seeing no other option, I told him, “Sir, your wife has just won the Nobel Prize.”
Thankfully, he let me in, and I photographed him as he brought Mary into the kitchen telling her the news. They were still in disbelief, so I handed my phone with our initial AP story to Ross, which he read to Mary in part.
The initial mood upon waking at 3:45 a.m. was, quite frankly, a mixture of stress, irritation, and disbelief. Ross told me that when he first walked into their bedroom with the news, he said, “Don’t be ridiculous.” As Mary and Ross begin to process the news and realize that all the missed calls from Sweden overnight were not spam, the mood changes to joy.
I was able to follow her with my camera as Mary sifted through piles of emails, text messages and phone calls from family, friends and other journalists hoping to speak with her.
Photographing a wedding that survived hurricane flooding
3. Photographer Aaron Favila has covered floods for years in the Philippines, where at least 20 typhoons hit each year. After receiving a tip from a photographer colleague, he rushed to cover a wedding at a flooded church just north of Manila.
I had an hour to reach the venue and I had to go out of the city and cross several flooded roads during heavy rains. The flooding in the area was too deep for our vehicle, so we had to stop. Luckily, a rescue truck passed by and I got into it.
I reached there just before they opened the door for the bride.
The groom, Jade Rick Verdillo, told me they were eager to go ahead with the ceremony despite the flood waters. “We’ve been through a lot. This is one of the struggles we’ve overcome,” he said.
If I were shooting a deadline story, I would run away after the first kiss. But for this one, I stuck with it till the end to make sure I captured every moment… just like a wedding photographer.
Youth theater begins construction from wildfire ashes
4. Reporter Jocelyn Gecker covered the opening night of a Southern California youth theater group when the Palisades wildfire destroyed their theater and many of the cast’s homes.
Rehearsals for the group’s upcoming musical, “Crazy for You”, began on January 6. The next day, the Palisades Fire devastated their community. But the show will go on, said director Lara Ganz, whose family also lost their home. It was about restoring solidarity, hope and routine, and showing children who have lost so much that life is not over.
Testifying on inauguration night was a gift. It was an evening of such intense emotions entwined together: joy and pain, heartbreak and joy, sadness and pride. As one father told me, it was a light in the darkness.
One teen said the burden of his loss eased when he sang and danced to the music of George and Ira Gershwin. He felt only happiness.
After the article was published, Ganz reported that members of the Gershwin Family Trust had read the story and attended a subsequent showing. He delivered a letter to the cast and crew.
“On behalf of the families of George and Ira Gershwin, we appreciate your flexibility,” the letter said. It praised their “amazing dedication” in the face of difficulty and said it hoped the cast would be extremely proud of their production. “We know George and Ira will be there too.”