A team of ten acrobats form the shape of a racehorse crossing the winning post ridden by Stefanie Hofer to celebrate the upcoming Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup at Ascot Racecourse on July 29, 2014 in Ascot, England. The Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup is the only team-format raceday in the UK and takes place on 9th August. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images for Ascot Racecourse)

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)

A picture made available on 14 July 2016 shows Greyhound dogs racing at the Wentworth Park Stadium in Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia, 13 July 2016. Greyhound racing has returned to Sydney's Wentworth Park and other NSW tracks for the first time since the state government announced plans to ban it. NSW Premier Mike Baird announced last week plans to shut down the sport in NSW following a Special Commission of Inquiry report that found “chilling” evidence of systemic animal cruelty within the industry. (Photo by David Moir/EPA)

Horse riders perform with guns during the El-Jadida International Horse Show in El-Jadida, south of Casablanca, Morocco, October 15, 2016. (Photo by Youssef Boudlal/Reuters)

Performers are reflected in a displayed vehicle before going onto the stage during the Auto China 2016 auto show in Beijing, China, April 29, 2016. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

Revellers wearing lanterns parade through the streets during the carnival procession of Basel, Switzerland, 15 February 2016. The traditional Morgestraich starting Monday morning after Ash Wednesday at 4 a.m. marks the kick-off of the Carnival of Basel. (Photo by Patrick Seeger/EPA)

Two female revelers engage in a beer drinking contest in the Hacker Pschorr tent on the first day of the 2017 Oktoberfest beer fest on September 16, 2017 in Munich, Germany. Oktoberfest is the world's largest beer celebration and typically draws over six million visitors over its three-week run. Oktoberfest includes massive beer tents, each run by a different Bavarian brewer, as well as amusement rides and activities. (Photo by Philipp Guelland/Getty Images)

A four-day old African spurred tortoise, Geochelone sulcata, one of eight babies, was place on the head of its mother in their enclosure in Nyiregyhaza Animal Park in Nyiregyhaza, 226 km east of Budapest, Hungary, 27 September 2011. This was the first time that offspring of an African spurred tortoise were born in this zoo. The eight babies hatched after 115 days, they are 5.5 cms long and weigh 25 grams. Spurred tortoise is the largest species of land tortoises in Africa, the weight of an adult animal may reach 80 kgs. (Photo by Attila Balazs/EPA)