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Shelia:
Including the images should be easy. All you need to do is to edit the template system_block_mainmenu.html. Do it on the template manager, choosing the System module and then looking in the blocks section.
The part that to me seems a bit more complex is the defining what's the meaning of new content (uploaded today, in the past 3 days, in the past week?) and more than that, the selection of a specific icon to include there. But I guess it can be done.
Any volunteers?
Cheers.