Bridget Anne Kelly, 41, of Ramsey, New Jersey, wasn't known as an aggressive political animal who would take delight in snarling up the traffic for schoolchildren and emergency services to score petty political points. She is a mother-of-four after all. One who rose quickly up the political ladder in New Jersey with the words 'pleasant' and 'integrity' attached to her work. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, pictured at her birthday, left, fired her for 'lying' and her 'callous indifference'. But for her friends this just doesn't fit. They are convinced she's the scapegoat, the fall guy, or at the very least has been set up.

The series, titled 'Golden Hour,' is from one of the organization's 'Your Shot' communities - and offers up some of the prettiest pictures taken by travelers at dusk and dawn. From sunrise over a foggy Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco to first light over a reserve in Kenya where an acacia tree and grazing gnus are silhouetted, the images astonish. Hues of oranges, pinks and purples glow in landscapes such as a snowy Mount Baker in Washington State and the Diné deities.

Blogger Ruth Iorio, who lives in Los Angeles, began labor on Christmas day and continued to post on Twitter about it over the next 12 hours, from the moment her contractions began to when she delivered her baby boy and was transferred to hospital for a blood transfusion. Her aim was to open people's eyes to the 'unique experience' of home birth, 'whether attractive or not, and just be honest about it.'

The housekeeper at the center of the Indian diplomat scandal has broken her silence on the day that diplomat Devyani Khobragade was indicted on two criminal charges, MailOnline can reveal. Speaking for the first time Sangeet Richard said: ‘I would like to tell other domestic workers who are suffering as I did – you have rights and do not let anyone exploit you.’ Khobragade was charged by a federal grand jury in Manhattan with visa fraud and making false statements in a case that has triggered outcry both in the States and in India.

UPDATED Myles Dobson was covered with bruises and burns over his arms, legs and genitals when he was found unconscious in Janaie Jones' apartment in Midtown. The 37-year-old woman told authorities that she was trying to discipline the young boy after she assumed care of the boy on December 18 when his father, Okee Wade, 37, was sent to jail. 'I was giving him corporal punishment,' Jones, a transgender performer, allegedly admitted to police. 'I was trying to control him.'

As nasty as the polar vortex was, it made for some spectacular sights. One of the best was the hundreds of beach ball-sized ice boulders that washed up on the shores of Lake Michigan. The incredible winter phenomenon, which was captured by many YouTube videos, takes place when the water temperature falls to just below freezing. The balls, weighing up to 75 pounds, form when chunks of ice break off the large sheets of ice on the lake. The motion of the waves then smooth and round the edges of the ice, molding it into spheres similar to how stones are shaped.

Only a handful of others have shared the same experiences as George Lamson Jr, top left, who was the sole survivor of a Reno plane crash, pictured. Lamson, who was 17 when the passenger jet he was on crashed, killing his father and 69 others in 1985, may have walked away with his life, but he has been haunted by survivor's guilt ever since. And, with only 25 people alive today have shared the same experience - and feelings of guilt - as Lamson including co-pilot Jim Polehinke, center, teenager Bahia Bakari, right, and Cecelia Chichan, bottom, who was only 4 when she escaped an otherwise fatal accident.

Rafael Spear, 61, who lives in Orlando, (pictured with Monica's sister Carolina) today told MailOnline he will fight to take Maya to the US after the brutal killings in Venezuela on Monday of beauty queen Monica Spear Mootz and her husband Thomas Berry. But parents of beauty queen's husband, who live in Venezuela, say plans are still to be decided. Maya who was also shot, has left hospital and is expected to attend her parents' funeral on Friday. Today, family and friends were comforted by hundreds who had turned out to pay their respects at a lying in state for the couple, who will be buried side by side.

Molly Schuyler, 34, of Nebraska, uploaded a video to YouTube showing her tackling the hefty lump of beef at Sayler's Old Country Kitchen in Portland on January 3. Instead of using a knife and fork she is seen eating with her hands. When she is a third of the way through the meat feast, a spectator exclaims: 'This is where most men stop . . . after an hour', but Ms Schuyler perseveres.

Authorities say Ryan Benson and Erica Manly had dinner at the Twisted Fish Steakhouse. When the bill came, the suspected drug dealers offered a gift card. Lacking any actual money to leave as a tip, the couple improvised and gave the waitress an envelope full of meth.

Noppakhao, also known as Peter, churns out dozens of works of art at his conservation reserve in Thailand. The 11-year-old began painting eight years ago as part of the Asian Elephant Art & Conservation Project (AEACP) in Ayutthaya province, nearly 50 miles north of Bangkok. Funds from the sale of his work - some of which come with a price tag of up to $700 - go towards conservation projects and training caretakers.

Matthew Barnett, the high school football player (right) accused of raping 14-year-old Daisy Coleman (left) at a house party in Maryville, Missouri in January 2012, pleaded guilty to child endangerment today but was not charged with any sexual offenses after the teen and her family accepted his apology. He was given a two-year suspended sentence after entering a plea bargain that required him merely to apologize and pay $1,800 towards Coleman's future counseling. Coleman, who has tried to commit suicide three times since the alleged attack, said she believed Barnett's apology was 'genuine' and 'heartfelt'. The case received national attention after fellow students relentlessly bullied Coleman for reporting the attack - eventually forcing her family to flee the small town. The family home then mysteriously burned down (top center).

Before Humans of New York Harlem had its own dedicated photographer, Harvey Stein, who documented the neighborhood for two decades. The vibrancy, changing fashions, and larger than life characters who live in the stretch of Manhattan famed for its African-American population is portrayed in stunning black and white images that have been turned into the glossy book Harlem Street Portraits.

Airman, the official magazine of the Air Force, has curated the best images taken by their enlisted photographers in 2013. The series of photos paint a picture of life in the Air Force, from procedures in the air to training exercise on the ground. They capture a range of emotions from one serviceman receive chemotherapy treatment, to another greeting his son after deployment.

Looking far healthier than he did when he was rescued two years ago, the boy testified at Sharon Glass' child abuse trial Wednesday in Viera, Florida. He didn't shed a tear as he recounted years spent locked up in a closet and a bathroom by his father, Michael Marshall and Glass, his father's girlfriend. He was finally rescued in March 2012 when a family friend called police. Glass is charged with multiple felonies including aggravated child abuse. Marshall will be tried on similar charges later this year.

One of San Francisco's trendiest clothing stores, Betabrand, has become an online hit even though the gaudy makeover of the site is just a ploy to attract new staff. The site took the Betabrand developers a day to create, and features lots of in-jokes for internet developers, including retro looking graphics, error messages, under construction signs and even gags such as claiming the site is optimized for Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser, a badge which appeared on many sites in the early days of the web. Although it only launched on Thursday morning, and will remain for just 36 hours, the firm has already been inundated with applications.

The polar vortex has been blamed for delaying flights and costing the U.S. economy billions in lost business, but the arctic blast has given ice harvesters a head start. The annual collection of chunks of ice from a New Hampshire lake was able to start nearly a month earlier than previous years thanks to the recent cold snap. Crews armed with saws and picks collect the blocks for a Holderness campsite, which uses the ice as a natural freezer.

The picture on the left is actually a drawing, while the chair on the right is real, believe it or not, both are by Korean artist Jinil Park. At first glance they both appear to be simple 2-D doodles drawn in fine line. But upon closer inspection, Jinil Park's creations reveal themselves to be fully functioning life-sized furniture. The Korean designer's range, dubbed 'Drawing Furniture', is made from intersecting steel wires and has the appearance of a flat rough sketch.

An cute polar bear cub at Toronto Zoo took his first wobbly steps on all four paws yesterday - just in time to celebrate his two-month birthday today. While the male bear doesn't yet have a name, he's got plenty of character as he squawked and screeched before tentatively walking for the first time.