Wednesday in Pictures: January 13

Icicles hang over a rail along the shore of Lake Michigan in Chicago, Ill. Commuters in the Chicago area were greeted with bitter cold temperatures today.

President Barack Obama boards Air Force One for Nebraska and Louisiana at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

Before that, Obama had to fly from the White House to the Joint Base Andrews. Above, women wave as their hair and scarves are blown in the wind as Obama leaves the South Lawn of the White House.

A Pakistani grieves as he sits alongside bodies of blast victims following a bomb blast near a polio vaccination center, at a hospital in Quetta.  

Pope Francis is hugged by a child wearing a protection mask at the end of his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. 

People stand near sperm whales after they became stranded on the Dutch island of Texel yesterday. Five sperm whales have died, officials said on Jan. 13. 

An Indian sadhu (Hindu holy man) smokes cannabis at his temporary camp on Gangasagar Island, India. More than 500,000 Hindu pilgrims and sadhus are expected to gather at the confluence of the River Ganges and the Bay of Bengal during the Gangasagar Mela.

Kenyan athletes run during their training session in Iten in the Rift Valley, Kenya. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said in November that it has been investigating Kenya for doping allegations. 

A so-called Silvesterchlaus (New Year Clause) holds on to his hat during heavy winds on his way in Waldstatt, Switzerland, to offer their best wishes for the New Year (following the Julian calendar) to the farmers in this region. They get hot drinks after the performance.

Simona Halep of Romania eyes a return against Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic during their women's singles third round match at the Sydney International tennis tournament in Australia.