A lighting bolt flashes in the sky as U.S. Army M1A1 Abram tanks roll through the desert December 9, 2002 near the Iraqi border in Kuwait. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

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)

In the forests of Viiksimo in Finland, in October 2023, a popular spot for watching wolves and bears, a crow has a rival at its lunch spot. (Photo by Valtteri Mulkahainen/Caters News Agency)

Visitors visit the Nanjing Museum in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province, September 26, 2024. By the end of August 2024, the 6,833 museums officially registered in China have received 940 million visitors. (Photo by CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

Crews inflate hot air balloons during the 39th annual New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning at Solberg Airport Friday, July 29, 2022, in Readington, N.J. The festival, which runs through Sunday, July 31, will feature as many as 100 balloons. (Photo by Julia Nikhinson/AP Photo)

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

People wearing face masks pose for a photo holding the flag of the Communist Party of China the Museum of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Beijing, China, 14 October 2022. The CPC museum is a site devoted to permanent and comprehensive exhibitions of the party's history. (Photo by Wu Hao/EPA/EFE)

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)