The northeastern United States sweltered this week in a scorching summer heat wave, complete with stagnant, sticky air and no winds for relief, forecasters said. Even in a summer already filled with stretches of very hot weather, this week will be stubbornly brutal, with no relief in sight until the weekend brings thunderstorms to the region, they said. "Plain and simple, this week may feel the worst of any week for this summer in the Northeast," said Accuweather.com meteorologist Alex Sosnowski. (Reuters)

Russia's Maria Sharapova carries the torch during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Friday, February 7, 2014. (Photo by Matt Dunham/Associated Press)

A leopard seal feeds Paul Nicklen a penguin. (Photo by Paul Nicklen/National Geographic). Antarctic Peninsula, 2011

Doris Pennman adjusts her umbrella as she walks along Mission Beach on January 8, 2005 in San Diego, Califonia. (Photo by Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)

“Natural History” is a series of completely candid single exposure images that merge the living and the dead to create allegorical narratives of our troubled co-existence with nature. Ghost-like reflections of modern visitors viewing wildlife dioramas are juxtaposed against the antique taxidermied subjects housed behind thick glass, their faces molded into permanent expressions of fear, aggression or fleeting passivity. After decades of over-hunting, climate change, poaching and destruction of habitat, many of these long dead diorama specimens now represent endangered or completely extinct species”. – Traer Scott. (Photo by Traer Scott)

An artist's impression of a growing supermassive black hole located in the early Universe is seen in this NASA handout illustration released on June 15, 2011. Using the deepest X-ray image ever taken, astronomers found the first direct evidence that massive black holes were common in the early universe. This discovery from NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory shows that very young black holes grew more aggressively than previously thought, in tandem with the growth of their host galaxies. (Photo by Reuters/NASA/Chandra X-Ray Observatory/A.Hobart)

Japan's On-Art Corp's eight metre tall dinosaur-shaped mechanical suit robot “TRX03” performs during its unveiling in Tokyo, Japan November 10, 2016. Stomping and roaring dinosaurs took to the stage in Tokyo on Thursday as part of a presentation for a proposed entertainment park where visitors will be able to see the realistic replicas first-hand. Japanese firm ON-ART Corp. unveiled man-operated robotic models of raptors, an allosaurus and a tyrannosaurus rex, in a performance at a hotel hall. (Photo by Toru Hanai/Reuters)

In this picture taken on Thursday, December 1, 2016, an Iranian woman covers herself with a blanket due to the cold, while visiting Khour salt lake during her tour of the Mesr desert about 305 miles (500 kilometers) southeast of the capital Tehran, Iran. Deserts make up parts of Iran which have recently become tourist destination for young Iranians looking for a break on their weekend. The increase in tourists to the desert has stimulated economic growth in the area. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)