In this April 20, 2018, file aerial photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, advection fog drifts across skyscrapers on the waterfront in Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong Province. Chinese leaders have long been sensitive about their communist country’s international image. Now, they are battling back, investing in diplomacy and a courtship of hearts and minds, just as the United States digs in on the Trump administration’s “America First” mindset. (Photo by Lu Hui/Xinhua via AP Photo/File)

A young cholita from “Warmi Empollerada” project is portrayed emulating to fly with an umbrella during the sunset at the Salar de Uyuni (Uyuni Salt Flats), southwestern Bolivia, on June 25, 2023. The Salar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat and a top tourist destination in Bolivia and South America. (Photo by Marcelo Perez Del Carpio/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

This Thursday, June 29, 2023, image provided by Virgin Galactic shows the Virgin Galactic's rocket-powered spaceplane during a research flight before gliding back down to Spaceport America in southern New Mexico. With the research flight complete, Virgin Galactic plans to begin commercial flights with paying ticket holders in August. (Photo by Virgin Galactic via AP Photo)

Sea lion is seen among people on a beach in San Cristobal island, part of Galapagos archipelago on February 11, 2025. Located in Ecuadorone of South America's most fascinating countriesthe Galapagos National Park spans 13 main islands and numerous islets, captivating biologists, environmental scientists, and tourists with its rich ecology. (Photo by Ozge Elif Kizil/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Villagers from the Medio Jurua nature reserve of Brazil's Amazon rainforest arrive with their catch of pirarucus, the largest freshwater fish in South America, after a night of fishing in Manaria Lake, Carauari municipality, September 3, 2012. Catching the pirarucu, a fish that is sought after for its meat and is considered by biologists to be a living fossil, is only allowed once a year by Brazil's environmental protection agency. (Photo by Bruno Kelly/Reuters)

A participant in the traditional dance of Los Historiantes poses for a picture prior to performing in the festivity held in the honour of Saint James, in Santiago Nonualco July 22, 2015. The traditional dance was brought to Latin America by the Spanish, and participants each dramatise an episode of the battles between the Christians and the Moors that took place on the Iberian Peninsula about eight centuries ago, according to the dancers. (Photo by Jose Cabezas/Reuters)

A photographer has weathered some of America's most violent storms to capture these stunning snaps. Storm chaser Mike Mezeul II, 30, has traveled all over the US to shoot the likes of mammoth thunderstorms and surreal cloud patterns. His incredible collection of storm images are the result of more than 15 years of photography and thousands of miles of travel. Here: Mike waiting for the storm at Cheyenne, Wyoming, June 2014. (Photo by Mike Mezeul II/Caters News)