Breaking news is a vital part of CNN iReport's DNA . iReporters give important and unique perspectives because they see the news from the inside – as witnesses or even participants in the stories CNN covers.

The nominees in the breaking news category of the 2010 CNN iReport Awards are very different stories from different parts of the world, but they all have one thing in common – they put a face on a major news story.

Nominee 1: Early images of the Deepwater Horizon fire

The BP oil disaster was a huge ecological disaster that affected hundreds of miles of beaches along the U.S. Gulf Coast, but it started with an oil rig explosion about 50 miles off shore. Captain Michael Roberts shot video of the fire from a rescue boat, braving flames that were hot enough to peel the paint on his boat.

Nominee 2: Car bomb in Bogata

Alex Kahn was fast asleep when a car bomb exploded about 200 feet from his hotel. He woke to the sound of the explosion, broken glass and people screaming. Then, he grabbed his camera and started filming the scene. Kahn was in Bogata to teach a digital filmmaking workshop to poor Colombian children, but he considered going home to New Jersey after the bombing. Ultimately, Kahn decided to stay and is finishing up the movie they produced.

Nominee 3: Buried alive in Haiti

Michael Andrew is professional photographer, who was working with the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division and a Canadian naval unit in Haiti. He was the first to tell us about the rescue of a man who was pulled from the rubble of a building four weeks after the earthquake that devastated Port-au-prince in January, 2010.

Nominee 4: President Obama heckled on bus

Brent Arbaugh was disappointed that President Obama's Memorial Day speech at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois, was rained out. Arbaugh was waiting on a shuttle bus when the President hopped on board and spoke to the cheering passengers. It was a fun photo-op that turned into a national news story when a man on the bus started heckling and yelling that Obama should be impeached.

Nominee 5: Machu Pichu flooding in Peru

Wes Milken and Robyn Symon were filming a documentary in Machu Pichu, Peru, when heavy rains triggered a mudslide that stranded them at the base of the mountain. They ended up being evacuated by helicopter.

Congratulations to all of the nominees and thank you to every iReporter who has shared their stories with CNN iReport. You can check out all of the nominees on the CNN iReport Awards page and be sure to vote for the Community Choice Award .

You can vote once a day until March 7th. We'll announce all of the winners on March 15th as part of our coverage of the South by Southwest festival.