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)

Anti-government protesters take cover during clashes with security forces who are firing tear gas from La Carlota airbase in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, May 1, 2019. Opposition leader Juan Guaidó called for Venezuelans to fill streets around the country Wednesday to demand President Nicolás Maduro's ouster. Maduro is also calling for his supporters to rally. (Photo by Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)

A woman poses for a photo in an almond plantation near Kiryat Gat, Israel February 17, 2018. (Photo by Amir Cohen/Reuters)

A boy and a woman run across a railway track as a train approaches in Chengdu, Sichuan province, China, October 8, 2015. Many residents disregard sign prohibiting this kind of illegal crossing and choose to do so to save time, local media reported. (Photo by Hao Fei/Reuters/Western China Metropolis Daily)

A man looks at a figure outside a store as he walks along a street in Beijing on March 2, 2021. (Photo by Wang Zhao/AFP Photo)

Members of the Kaisokah Moko Jumbies perform with fire on the waterfront near their San Fernando, Trinidad base February 10, 2015. (Photo by Andrea De Silva/Reuters)

“The Rothschild Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi) is among the most endangered giraffe subspecies with only a few hundred members in the wild. It is named after the famous family of the Tring Museum's founder, Lord Walter Rothschild, and is also known as the Baringo Giraffe, after the Lake Baringo area of Kenya, or as the Ugandan Giraffe. All of those that are living in the wild are in protected areas in Kenya and Uganda. (Recently it has been proposed that the Rothschild Giraffe is actually a separate species from other giraffes and not a giraffe subspecies).” – Wikipedia

Photo: Margaret, the 10-day-old Giraffestands beside Chester Zoo keeper Tim Rowlands on January 30, 2008, in Chester, England. Margaret is the first Rothschild giraffe born at the zoo. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

A nesting bird peeks out of the budding Japanese Yoshino cherry tree along the Tidal Basin in Washington, Sunday, April 7, 2013. Despite repeated predictions peak blossom time for the historic cherry trees is not yet here, but almost, almost. (Photo by Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)