Wednesday: The day in photos

Firefighter Bobby Lehman is coated with ice after fighting a fire at a multifamily home in Lynn, Mass. A cold wave spread to the Northeast, bringing chilly temperatures and biting winds.  (John Cetrino / Associated Press)

Demonstrators are seen through a window in the Guatemalan Congress in Guatemala City, where President Alvaro Colom presented a report on his first year of administration.  (Rodrigo Abd / Associated Press)

A Palestinian girl whose home was hit in an Israeli military strike takes stock of her surroundings in Gaza City.  (Abid Katib / Getty Images)

An unidentified biathlete takes part in the women’s 4x6-kilometer relay race at the World Cup competition in Ruhpolding, Germany.  (Matthias Schrader / Associated Press)

Jewish activists, Marsha Steinberg, left, and Robin Ellis chain themselves to fellow demonstrators near the Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles in protest of the Israeli government’s military operations in the Gaza Strip.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

A riot police officer charges through a cloud of tear gas as his unit clashes with demonstrators in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital. The demonstrators were protesting against a constitutional amendment that would allow President Hugo Chavez to run for office indefinitely.  (Juan Barreto / AFP/Getty Images)

Palestinians in the Jabaliya refugee camp gather near a horse that was killed in the fighting between Israel and militants in the Gaza Strip.  (Abid Katib / Getty Images)

The remains of nearly 1,800 people have been exhumed from a mass grave in Malbork, Poland. The dead are believed to be German residents of the town who were killed when the Soviet Red Army advanced toward Berlin at the end of World War II. At the time, the town was part of Germany and known as Marienburg.  (Adam Warzawa / EPA)

Robin Lenel of France stays just ahead of Casey Puckett of the U.S. during a men’s World Cup ski cross event in Flaine, France.  (Laurent Cipriani / Associated Press)

An explosion backlights a mosque during an Israeli air strike at night in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, near the border with Egypt. Israel said it was targeting weapons-smuggling tunnels into Gaza.  (Said Khatib / AFP/Getty Images)

Relatives cry during the funeral of two Palestinian brothers, ages 6 and 11, and their teenage uncle in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. They were killed in an Israeli missile strike.  (Mohammed Saber / EPA)

The space shuttle Discovery is slowly moved from the vehicle assembly building to a launch complex at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Discovery is scheduled to depart on a mission to the International Space Station in February.  (Matt Stroshane / Getty Images)

A man dressed as the Chinese god of fortune enlivens a promotional event outside a shopping mall in Hong Kong celebrating 2009 as the year of the ox.  (Ym Yik / EPA)

A New Delhi police officer shouts commands during a rehearsal for a parade marking India’s Republic Day. The annual Jan. 26 celebration marks India’s adoption of its constitution as an independent nation.  (Manish Swarup / Associated Press)

Comrades carry the coffin of British Marine Cpl. Liam Elms into a church in Wigan, England. Elms was killed by an explosion while on patrol in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on New Year’s Eve.  (Christopher Furlong / Getty Images)

A performer rises above the crowd during the opening ceremony for the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney. More than 1,500 athletes from 31 nations will compete in 17 sports.  (Tosten Blackwood / AFP/Getty Images)