A young girl splashes through a waterfall at a park in Washington, DC, on June 28, 2021, as a heatwave moves over much of the United States. Swathes of the United States and Canada endured record-setting heat on June 27, 2021, forcing schools and Covid-19 testing centers to close and the postponement of an Olympic athletics qualifying event, with forecasters warning of worse to come. The village of Lytton in British Columbia broke the record for Canada's all-time high, with a temperature of 46.6 degrees Celsius (116 Fahrenheit), said Environment Canada. (Photo by Jim Watson/AFP Photo)

Hawaii has long been known as a tropical paradise, but in recent years another image has intruded into the state's carefully crafted one of idyllic beaches and relaxing resorts: homelessness. The number of homeless people has grown in recent years, leaving the state with 487 homeless per 100,000 people, the nation's highest rate per capita, above New York and Nevada, according to federal statistics. Many of the homeless, however, defy the stereotype of the mentally ill or drug addicted. They are families, with men and women who work full-time jobs. They are struggling to get a foothold in a place with a high cost of living and low wages. Here: in this Thursday, August 27, 2015 photo, a homeless man drinks water while sitting on the beach at Ala Moana Beach Park located near Waikiki in Honolulu. (Photo by Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)

“Supanova Pop Culture Expo (Supanova) is a fan convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy film and TV, comic books, anime, gaming and collectables. It is held annually in the Australian cities of Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Terminator and Wolverine pose for photos during the National Cosplay Championships as part of the Supanova Pop Culture Expo at the Dome at Olympic Park on June 19, 2010 in Sydney, Australia. Cosplayers and comic book and sci-fi fans from across the state gathered to meet like-minded folk and attend guest panels with the stars of some of the popular television shows and publications of the genre. (Photo by Sergio Dionisio/Getty Images)

General view of the screens in Hyde Park to showing the Royal Wedding on April 29, 2011 in London, England. The marriage of Prince William, the second in line to the British throne, to Catherine Middleton is being held in London today. The Archbishop of Canterbury conducted the service which was attended by 1900 guests, including foreign Royal family members and heads of state. Thousands of well-wishers from around the world have also flocked to London to witness the spectacle and pageantry of the Royal Wedding and street parties are being held throughout the UK. (Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images)

A Geminid meteor streaks diagonally across the sky against a field of star trails behind one of the peaks of the Seven Sisters rock formation in this long exposure early December 14, 2007 in the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. The meteor display, known as the Geminid meteor shower because it appears to radiate from near the star Castor in the constellation Gemini, is thought to be the result of debris cast off from an asteroid-like object called 3200 Phaethon. The shower is visible every December. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

The President tree is the name of a giant sequoia located in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park in the United States, east of Visalia, California. The tree is believed to be at least 3,200 years old.
The tree was named after President Warren G. Harding in 1923. Nearby trees include Chief Sequoyah, the 27th largest giant sequoia in the world, and the Congress Group, two dense stands of medium sized sequoias that represent the "House" and "Senate".

Well, this is hardly a waist of time! Here’s the couple who traveled the U.S. with an LED hula hoop – taking magnificent landscape photographs as they went. The brilliantly vibrant photographs show off the lights and colors of the lit-up hula hoop – with the strikingly serene American landscapes in the background. Grant Mallory, 25, from Columbus, Ohio, took pictures of his 23-year-old fiance hula-hooping in various national parks across the United States over the course of a three month road trip in the summer of 2015. Here: Magnificent pictures taken by Grant Mallory. (Photo by Grant Mallory/Caters News)

The report, prepared by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Earth Institute at Columbia University, showed Syria, Afghanistan and eight sub-Saharan countries as the 10 least happy places on earth to live. The top 10 this year were Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Finland, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, and Sweden. Denmark was in third place last year, behind Switzerland and Iceland. The bottom 10 were Madagascar, Tanzania, Liberia, Guinea, Rwanda, Benin, Afghanistan, Togo, Syria and Burundi. The United States came in at 13, the United Kingdom at 23, France at 32, and Italy at 50. Here: #8. NEW ZEALAND: A woman dives from a platform into a giant air bed at a park in Palmerston North September 29, 2011. (Photo by Marcos Brindicci/Reuters)