Chris Schneider / AP
Brandan Styles, left, and Ellie Rusinova, right, both of Denver, look at a pen of alpacas at the first Denver County Fair in Denver, Colorado, on July 28.
The AP reports:
Denver has an ambitious plan to revive the county fair: blend throwback chic with urban grit to draw crowds celebrating everything weird and crafty. Mix funnel cakes with drag queens, add a dash of old-time quilting and newly hip knitting, and the recipe could produce what organizers hope is a new flavor of county fair. Read the full story.
Displays of machismo and bravado by militaries of Russia and China are nothing new, but it's always worth a look and a laugh.
Yuri Maltsev / Reuters
A Russian soldier holds a desk with his mouth at the harbor of Russia's far eastern city of Vladivostok on Friday, July 29.
Yuri Maltsev / Reuters
A Russian soldier smashes a brick with a hammer on the stomach of a fellow soldier during a performance as part of a naval parade rehearsal at the harbour of Russia's far eastern city of Vladivostok, Friday, July 29. Russia will mark its Navy Day on July 31.
Ilya Naymushin / Reuters
Athletes Vladimir Muravlyov (front) of Ukraine and Roman Gavrusik of Russia pull 10 railway cars, weighing 500 tons, over 30 feet during in an attempt to beat a previous Russian record at the central railway station of Krasnoyarsk, on Friday, July 29. They broke a previous record of 9 cars pulled, weighing some 460 tons in 2006.
For more intriguing images from places near and far, check out the Week in Pictures.
Guernsey's Auctioneers has been appointed to sell what it describes as "a remarkable body of material" owned by Rosa Parks at the time of her death.
The archive includes thousands of items - ranging from Mrs. Parks' clothes and schoolbooks to her Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Medal of Freedom, as well as her recipe for 'featherlite pancakes' and a postcard sent to Mrs. Parks by Martin Luther King. According to the AP, the auctioneers hope to find an institution that will buy and preserve the complete archive.
The AP reports that the archive also includes an essay written by Mrs. Parks that discloses how she was nearly raped as a young woman while working as a housekeeper for a white neighbor.
Richard Drew / AP
A postcard written to Rosa Parks from Martin Luther King, while he was traveling in Europe, is shown at Guernsey's auction house in New York on July 25.
Richard Drew / AP
The Congressional Gold Medal, left, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, belonging to Rosa Parks, are shown at Guernsey's auction house on July 25.
Richard Drew / AP
Rosa Parks' recipe for "featherlite pancakes," written on the back of an envelope from the 1st National Bank of Detroit, and some of her correspondence, are shown at Guernsey's auction house on July 25.
Related content:
Adam Pretty / Getty Images
Tyler Clary of the United States competes in the Men's 200m Backstroke final during day fourteen of the 14th FINA World Championships at the Oriental Sports Center on July 29 in Shanghai, China.
Water can create some amazing photo effects.
Check out more of Adam Pretty's sports photography in his winning portfolio from this year's World Press Photo contest.
Morten Holm / Scanpix Norway via AP
Anders Behring Breivik, partially visible at center, is transported in a police vehicle from prison to police headquarters for a second session of questioning, in Oslo, Norway, on July 29.
Read more about developments in Norway today and see more images in our slideshow.
Jorge Silva / Reuters
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez dances with his granddaughter Gabriela on a balcony as he celebrates his 57th birthday in Caracas on July 28.
Reuters reports from CARACAS:
Looking stronger after cancer treatment, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez said on Thursday he felt reborn, phoenix-like, on his 57th birthday, in a sign the socialist believes he is overcoming his illness.
"I've arrived at 57 being reborn, a new life, my eternal return," said Chavez, who opponents accuse of having messianic tendencies. Continue reading.
Michele Haskell / Times Herald-Record via AP
Rescuers scramble as a Westfall, Pa. Fire Department rescue boat sinks in the Delaware River during a search for 18-year-old Daniel Rak of New York on July 28, near the Ten Mile River Scout Camps in Narrowsburg, N.Y. All six emergency personnel were rescued. Divers recovered the body of Rak, who was trying to swim across the river in an area with strong currents when he went missing Wednesday.
Adrenaline Expedition / AFP - Getty Images
Sebastien Roubinet of France makes tests with his catamaran-ice boat hybrid capable of sailing on both water and ice in July on the Saint-Louis Lake in Quebec, Canada.
Adrenaline Expedition / AFP - Getty Images
Sebastien Roubinet, along with and Rodolphe Andre will cross the Arctic Ocean as part of the expedition "La voie du Pôle" (The way of the Pole) from Alaska to Spitsbergen, an island north of Norway – a journey of more than 2,000 miles.
Adrenaline Expedition / AFP - Getty Images
When the winds will be favorable, the sails will be able to carry them; otherwise they will need to tow the boat themselves without any external assistance.
The Frenchmen were scheduled to leave in early-July, and won't reach Spitsbergen until sometime in September.
Eric Risberg / AP
A girl rides the Looff Carousel at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in Santa Cruz, Calif., June 29. The carousel made its debut in August 1911, built by Charles I.D. Looff, a master woodcarver from Denmark. Looff had already made his name with his first complete carousel placed at Coney Island in New York. Back then, rides cost a nickel. Today, the carousel, which has been designated a National Historic Landmark, costs $3.00 a spin.
What says summer like a carousel on the boardwalk? Full story.
Fernando Vergara / AP
A girl talks with the 2011 World Cup U-20 mascot in Cali, Colombia, Thursday July 28. The tournament will be held in Colombia from July 29 - Aug. 20 and will host 24 teams.
I really like the way the loose framing makes the mood of this picture.
Reuters
A combination photo shows 20 of the 76 victims killed in the July 22 bomb attack in central Oslo and shooting rampage in Utoya island. First row from left are: Silje Merete Fjellbu (17) from Tinn, Birgitte Smetbak (15) from Noetteroey, Margrethe Boeyum Kloeven (16) from Baerum, Bano Abobakar Rashid (18) from Nesodden, Hanne Fjalestad (43) from Lunner, Diderik Aamodt Olsen (19) from Nesodden and Kjersti Berg Sand (26) from Nord-Oda. Second row from left are: Sharidyn Meegan Ngahiwi Svebakk-Boehn, Guro Vartdal Haavoll (18) from Oersta, Syvert Knudsen (17) from Lyngdal, Simon Saeboe (18) from Salangen, Haakon Oedegaard (17) from Trondheim, Johannes Buoe (14) from Mandal and Eivind Hovden (15) from Tokke. Third row from left are: Sondre Furseth Dale (17) from Haugesund, Sverre Flaate Bjoerkavaag (28) from Sula, Gizem Dogan (17) from Trondheim, Modupe Ellen Awoyemi (15) from Drammen, Silje Stamneshagen (18) from Askoey, Tove Aashill Knutsen (56) from Oslo.
These composites, like the ones of the September 11 victims, carry a great deal of emotional power.
Related:
Stories behind Norway's victims emerge
NYT: Utoya survivors find faith in Norway's system is stronger
NYT: Norway killings shift immigrant debate in Europe
A victim's account.
Ilya Naymushin / Reuters
Timber rafts, a method in which logs are tied together into rafts, are seen as they are transported along the Angara River near the town of Kodinsk northeast from the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, on Thursday, July 28.
I like how the logs and shore form the shape of a sailboat. More images from Russia on PhotoBlog.
Alexandre Marchi / L'est Republicain via AP
Hot air balloons float in the sky at Chambley-Bussieres, eastern France, on Wednesday, July 27, during an attempt to set a world record for collective takeoff during the event
Last October, New York Times photojournalist Joao Silva stepped on a land mine while covering the war in Afghanistan. PhotoBlog posts here and here documented the event. Silva lost both legs, and was taken to Walter Reed Army Medical Center for treatment.
Silva started walking on his prosthetic legs in February.
Yesterday, he covered the closing ceremonies at Walter Reed for the paper; his photo, below, was featured on today's front page.
The New York Times Lens blog reported this heartwarming story.
Joao Silva for The New York Times
Soldiers and guests watch a parachute demonstration by the Golden Knights after the Casing of the Colors ceremony at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The Army held a closing ceremony Wednesday, as authorities prepared to move hundreds of patients and vast amounts of equipment to new and refurbished facilities in Maryland and Virginia.
Jerome Delay / AP
In this Feb. 2009 photo New York Times photographer Joao Silva is seen while on assignment in Madagascar. Silva was seriously wounded when stepping on a mine while covering US troops in southern Afghanistan it was reported Saturday Oct 23 2010. Silva was evacuated to Kandahar Air Field where he was receiving treatment, the newspaper said in a statement. Silva, who has received several awards for his work, has photographed wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, southern Africa, the Balkans and the Middle East. He is the author, with Greg Marinovich, of "The Bang-Bang Club," a chronicle of a group of four photographers covering the violence in South Africa in the 1990s.
Republican Representative from Arkansas Tim Griffin, right, followed by reporters and other freshman Republicans, walks to a press conference where he threw his support to Speaker Boehner's budget bill outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Thursday, July 28. The House is expected to vote today on Boehner's budget plan.
Nuno Andre Ferreira / EPA
Firemen try to extinguish a forest fire which started this morning in a forest near Nelas, Portugal, on Thursday, July 28.
According to EPA, around 100 firefighters have reportedly been called to tackle the blaze near Nelas, Portugal. More Portugal-related images on PhotoBlog.
Robert Mooney / Solent News & Photo Agency
A cow walks among a group of crocodiles in Brazil in July.
According to photographer Robert Mooney, who took the photo in The Pantanal (a tropical wetland in Brazil), the cow appeared to walk directly towards the crocodiles (caimans) after wandering away from its herd in search of food. He said that he, "was amazed the cow dared to stroll among the crocs with such apparent ease."
Charlie L. Harper / Reuters
Spectators gather by the water near the Congress Street bridge in downtown Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, July 27, to watch the bats make their nightly flight for food. The largest urban bat colony in the world lives below a bridge in Austin. The drought has killed off crops in Texas, and that in turn has killed off those delicious pests the Mexican free-tailed bats consider dinner.
Charlie L. Harper / Reuters
Each night the bats stream from under a bridge by the hundreds of thousands in a black cloud so large that it shows up on local weather radar.
Charlie L. Harper / Reuters
One of some 1.5 million bats emerges from below the Congress Street Bridge near downtown Austin on Wednesday.
Reuters reports:
AUSTIN, Texas — There are 1.5 million bats living under a bridge in downtown Austin, and a historic Texas drought is making them hungrier than ever.
That's bad news for the bats in the world's largest urban bat colony. But it is good news for the humans who gather each evening just a few blocks from the state Capitol building to watch their spectacular nightly trips into the nearby Hill Country to find food. Continue reading.
Omar Sobhani / Reuters
An internally displaced Afghan man talks from a small window at a refugee camp in Kabul on Thursday, July 28.
The pop of color, framing and texture this image offers is eye-catching.
Warren Little / Getty Images
A golf cart sits in the Barry Burn on the 17th hole following some errant driving during the first round of the 2011 Ricoh Women's British Open at Carnoustie on July 28, in Scotland.
I hope whoever was on this cart was able to swim away uninjured, but really? How do you let this happen?! Give me your best response in the comment section below.
And if you think THIS is bad... check out the blonde woman who wrecked her Bentley convertible into not one, not two, but four other luxury sports cars outside the Monte Carlo's iconic Place du Casino in Monaco. It hurts to think about. A Porsche, Ferrari and Aston Martin, were valued together over $1 million. With luck like this hopefully she didn't go into the casino.
Johan Cristian Tandberg / Scanpix Norway via Reuters
Shattered glass and debris are seen in a still image taken from a video shot in the first few minutes after an explosion outside the main government office building in Oslo, Norway, on July 22. The crater in the ground was the spot where a car with a bomb was at when it went off at around 1522 hours local time last Friday, killing eight people.
Adrees Latif / Reuters
Two photographs of Inamullah taken almost a year apart.
Reuters photographer Adrees Latif this week returned to the home of Inamullah, a young Pakistani boy he had first photographed last year. Inamullah's family were forced out of their home by the devastating 2010 floods which ravaged one-fifth of the country.
In the first picture above, taken on August 1, 2010, Inamullah, 4, sits on top of furniture and household items recovered in his family courtyard hours after they returned to their home in Nowshera, northwest Pakistan.
In the second picture, dated July 26, 2011, Inamullah, poses for a portrait in the same courtyard. "I remember the water, it took my toys. I miss them the most," the now five-year-old Inamullah said.
Ikramullah, the boy's father, said their 25-member family survived by taking refuge on a nearby hilltop for four days. When the first picture was taken, they had just returned to their home. "[Inamullah] is the most confident amongst his peers. But when it starts to rain, he cries in fear of another flood," his father said.
Adrees Latif / Reuters
Two photographs of Ikramullah, Inamullah's father. Top, as he returned to his pen to find his livestock killed by floodwaters in Nowshera, northwest Pakistan, on August 1, 2010; and bottom, posing for a portrait in front of the same brick wall on July 26, 2011.
Last year's floods killed 2,000, left 11 million homeless and affected the lives of another 7 million, Reuters reported. Pakistan is still struggling to recover from $10 billion in damages to infrastructure, irrigation systems, bridges, houses and roads.
Related content:
Reuters
Masked Serb extremists set the Serbia-Kosovo border crossing on fire in Jarinje on July 27. Ethnic Serbs set fire to a border crossing post in northern Kosovo on Wednesday after Kosovo's government said it had regained control of that station and one other, officials said. Oliver Ivanovic, Serbia's state secretary for Kosovo, said no one was hurt, but voiced concern about further violence.
Armend Nimani / AFP - Getty Images
Members of Kosovo police carry the coffin of their late colleague Enver Bajrami during his funeral ceremony in the village of Dubovc on July 27. The policeman was shot and killed on Tuesday in the ethnically divided town of Mitrovica.
Armend Nimani / AFP - Getty Images
Kosovo Albanians attend a funeral ceremony for police officer Enver Zymberi on July 27.
Reuters reports:
A deadly flare-up of violence in Kosovo's Serbian-populated north has sent tensions with Belgrade soaring and prompted a stern intervention from the European Union.
Kosovo, which has a 90 percent ethnic Albanian majority, sent special police units on Monday to take control of northern border crossings and enforce a ban on imports from Serbia -- retaliation for its block on Kosovo's exports.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 but Belgrade does not recognize the move and the 60,000 Serbs who live in northern Kosovo still consider Belgrade their capital.
One Kosovo police officer was shot in the head and died on Tuesday in a clash with local Serbs. On Wednesday, armed Serbs attacked and burned down the Jarinje border post and fired at members of NATO's KFOR peacekeeping force. Continue reading.
Imeh Akpanudosen / Getty Images Contributor
People jump on top of a police car during unrest around the Los Angeles premiere of "Electric Daisy Carnival Experience" held at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on July 27.
Mike Cooper / AP
Police hold back a crowd outside Grauman's Chinese Theater on July 27 after a crowd became unruly outside the Hollywood film premiere of a documentary about the Electric Daisy Carnival rave, throwing bottles and vandalizing cars and refusing orders to disperse after they were forced to leave an overcrowded theater, authorities said.
NBCLosAngeles.com reports:
An angry crowd threw rocks and set fires on Hollywood Boulevard and police in riot gear fired bean bags late Wednesday after people were turned away from an invitation-only party and screening of a movie about a popular rave festival. Continue reading.
Brad Vest / The Virginian-Pilot via AP
A herd of ponies makes their way towards the shore during the Chincoteague Wild Pony Swim on Wednesday, July 27. The ponies swim from Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge to Chincoteague Island, Virginia to be sold at auction to benefit the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company.
Brad Vest / The Virginian-Pilot via AP
The herd of ponies rest and eat in a small pasture after reaching the shore of Chincoteague Island.
Jay Diem / Salisbury Daily Times via AP
Mason, the grandson of Saltwater Cowboy Walter Marks, pets Moe at the landing site before the 86th annual Chincoteague Wild Pony Swim on July 27.
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