Fireworks displays never seem to get old. I still feel like a child watching in awe as they explode in the sky. What an amazing shot of the Macy’s Independence Day celebration in New York City as seen from North Bergen, New Jersey. (Reuters/Gary Hershorn)
The Monitor’s Tumblr team (Lane and Kevin) are heading out for the Fourth of July holiday weekend; Lane is caught in traffic trying to go south cross the George Washington Bridge (above photo) while Kevin is about to wrap up and get a late afternoon round of golf in before the weekend rush. We wish everyone a safe holiday weekend, we’ll see you back here on Tuesday.
What are your plans?
(Source: csmonitor.com)
Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan - 17 June 2011 - Debris from the tsunami - including this mountain of bicycles - is collected and sorted for recycling or incineration.
There is an estimated 6 million tons of debris - only 10% has been collected after 2 months of work. Cleanup and reconstruction continues after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that destroyed coastal areas. 5,500 people from this city are confirmed dead or still missing.
Photo by Melanie Stetson Freeman/The Christian Science Monitor
We like this photo and thought it was easily shareable. Pass it on - its not news, but it is a slice of everyday life.
A vegetable vender is seen as he waits for customers in Kathmandu. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)
(Source: csmonitor.com)
Instructors show workers how to exercise on the factory grounds of Chinese company Yingli Green Energy Holding Company, also known as Yingli Solar, in the city of Baoding, Hebei Province June 20, 2011. (REUTERS/David Gray)
(Source: csmonitor.com)
The rise of the ‘uber-raccoon:’ A recent study suggests that by trying to control the animals, humans are making them smarter.
“One of the things we’re doing is providing them [raccoons] with bigger and bigger challenges so we’re actually shaping an uber-raccoon that is going to be able to compete in an urban environment,” said Suzanne MacDonald, the study author and a behavioral psychologist at Toronto’s York University.
MacDonald tagged five raccoons with GPS systems and traced their movements over several months. She found they stuck to a territory of about three blocks, which was usually defined by busy streets. She said they rarely crossed streets, and when they did it was at around 5 a.m., when there was no traffic. MacDonald suggests that the animals have learned what time is best for avoiding cars, which remain their biggest threat in urban areas.
CAPTION: In this file photo, a raccoon that can’t be returned to the wild likes to lie on it’s back in it’s cage. Toronto has seen a rise in the city’s raccoon population. (Jim Damaske/Newscom)
Long after midnight, five-year-old Rajani is roused from sleep and carried by her uncle to her wedding.
Every year, throughout the world, millions of young girls are forced into marriage. This traditional practice spans continents, language, religion and caste. More from our latest project, the culmination of an eight-year investigation: “Too Young to Wed: The Secret World of Child Marriage” Image by Stephanie Sinclair.
A girl rests on a concrete column of the Holocaust memorial in Berlin, June 17, 2011. The memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe consists of 2,711 charcoal-grey rectangular pillars, which rise from the ground and form a tight grid through which visitors can wander. (REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz)
(Source: csmonitor.com)
Pilgrims from the Gines brotherhood wait to make their way to the shrine of El Rocio in Gines, near Seville, Spain. Every spring hundreds of thousands of devotees converge at the shrine to pay homage to the Virgin del Rocio during an annual pilgrimage which combines religious fervor and festive color. REUTERS/Marcelo del Pozo
This photograph makes me laugh. At first glance it seems to be a photo of women in traditional flamenco dresses, but when you look closer, they are teenage girls, acting like teenagers everywhere. Check out more of my picks for photos of the day, 6/7/11.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff Photographer
This photo was taken by Ann Hermes, one of the Monitor’s staff photographers on her trip last month to Yellowstone National Park.
Check out some of the reader captions from our Facebook Fan page.
(Source: csmonitor.com)
![The rise of the ‘uber-raccoon:’ A recent study suggests that by trying to control the animals, humans are making them smarter.
“One of the things we’re doing is providing them [raccoons] with bigger and bigger challenges so we’re actually shaping an uber-raccoon that is going to be able to compete in an urban environment,” said Suzanne MacDonald, the study author and a behavioral psychologist at Toronto’s York University.
MacDonald tagged five raccoons with GPS systems and traced their movements over several months. She found they stuck to a territory of about three blocks, which was usually defined by busy streets. She said they rarely crossed streets, and when they did it was at around 5 a.m., when there was no traffic. MacDonald suggests that the animals have learned what time is best for avoiding cars, which remain their biggest threat in urban areas.
CAPTION: In this file photo, a raccoon that can’t be returned to the wild likes to lie on it’s back in it’s cage. Toronto has seen a rise in the city’s raccoon population. (Jim Damaske/Newscom)](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lmy3njWmnd1qdm4y9o1_500.jpg)
