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)

For our latest mission, we put a Carnegie Hall orchestra in the middle of New York City and placed an empty podium in front of the musicians with a sign that read, “Conduct Us.” Random New Yorkers who accepted the challenge were given the opportunity to conduct this world-class orchestra. The orchestra responded to the conductors, altering their tempo and performance accordingly. This project was a collaboration with Carnegie Hall and Ensemble ACJW.

Juanita Robinson (L) from Ohio and Trenaya Blackburn pose as Quan White from Michigan takes their picture as they vacation on South Beach on May 16, 2016 in Miami Beach, Florida. The Florida government announced it broke a tourism record in the first quarter of this year, attracting 29.8 million tourists, an increase of 4.8 percent over the same time frame in 2015. (Photo by Joe Raedle/AFP Photo)

“Unexpected x2 (a.k.a. “how much is that doggie in the window”)”. Taiwan, 2011. (Photo and caption by Asian (Street) Impressions)

A person dressed as a pumpkin monster poses at the premiere of the film “Goosebumps”, in Los Angeles, California October 4, 2015. (Photo by Danny Moloshok/Reuters)

A man smashes an apple with a sword placed on the head of a man wearing a knave costume during the Easter knight event on April 21, 2014 in Berlin. The easter knight event delivers an insight into medieval lifestyle. (Photo by Rainer Jensen/AFP Photo/DPA)

A bride gets her make-up done before the start of a mass marriage ceremony in Kolkata, India, February 14, 2016. A total of 150 tribal Hindu, Muslim and Christian couples from various villages across the state took their wedding vows on Sunday during the day-long mass marriage ceremony organised by a social organisation, the organisers said. (Photo by Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

Reuters photographer Carlos Barria recently spent time in Shanghai, China, the fastest-growing city in the world. A week ago, he took this amazing shot, recreating the same framing and perspective as a photograph taken in 1987, showing what a difference 26 years can make. (Photo by Carlos Barria/Reuters/Stringer via The Atlantic)