August 2009

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Spot fires glow after the Station Fire burned through

Spot fires glow after the Station Fire burned through August 30, 2009 in Acton, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Chinese military singers take part in a chorus performance of patriotic songs

Chinese military singers take part in a chorus performance of patriotic songs involving 10,000 participants held at a gym in Beijing, China, Wednesday Aug. 26, 2009. More than 80 chorus groups from various units in Beijing sang patriotic songs to celebrate China's 60th national day. (AP Photo)

Friday, August 14, 2009

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev (L) and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin watch the international friendly soccer match

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev (L) and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin watch the international friendly soccer match between Argentina and Russia in a cafe at the Black Sea resort of Sochi August 12, 2009.

REUTERS/RIA Novosti/Kremlin/Dmitry Astakhov

President Barack Obama presents the Medal of Freedom to Joe Medicine Crow

President Barack Obama presents the Medal of Freedom to Joe Medicine Crow - High Bird during a ceremony in the East Room at the White House in Washington, August 12, 2009. The medal is the country's highest civilian honor.

REUTERS/Jim Young

Heavenly view

Visitors watch the sunrise from Mount Moses in the Sinai Peninsula on Aug. 10. According to the Bible, this was where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God.
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Illuminating strike

Lightning is seen striking the CN Tower in Toronto

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Dazzling display

Italian company Parente Fireworks opens the Fireworks International Contest to inaugurate the "Big Week" festival in San Sebastian, northern Spain, on Aug. 8. Teams of firework specialists from around the world compete to offer the most spectacular show.
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Water rescue

Rescuers try to pull a stranded car out of floodwater in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, China, on Aug. 9 after Typhoon Morakot battered China's commercial east coast. Several deaths were reported in mainland China, but the storm claimed most of its victims in neighboring Taiwan.

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Scene of devastation

This Aug. 13 image shows a river with extensive mudslides in Kaohsiung County, southern Taiwan, following Typhoon Morakot. The storm unleashed the worst floods the island nation has seen in 50 years. Hundreds are missing or feared dead.

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Plea for help

A Chinese tourist cries for help behind the damaged windows of a tour bus in a village in Hu county, northwestern China's Shaanxi province, on Aug. 12. Fifty-one tourists were trapped for more than eight hours inside the bus after it ran over a scooter, killing two local residents. Relatives of the victims attacked the bus and prevented the passengers from leaving before local authorities negotiated their release.

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The fluffy baby koala twins separated when their mother rejected one as she had no room in her pouch for both

Twin koalas are so rare that records show only four sets have ever been born

Reunited: Twin baby koalas Kialla and Tahilla are together again after their mother rejected Kialla as she had no room in her pouch

I heart you: The pair appeared to have no problem in bonding, despite their separation

Thursday, August 13, 2009

The squirrel photo crasher

Curious: The squirrel joined Melissa Brandts' snapshot at Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park, Canada

Celebrity sightings

Victoria's Secret models, from left, Alessandra Ambrosio, Lindsay Ellingson, Marisa Miller and Emanuela de Paula attend the 10-year anniversary celebration of The Body by Victoria collection at Victoria's Secret Herald Square in New York

Evan Rachel Wood arrives at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Annual installation luncheon at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Heather Graham works the red carpet for the Spanish premiere of "The Hangover" in Barcelona on Tuesday, Aug. 11.

Actress Taylor Momsen walks to "Gossip Girl" set on the Upper East Side of New York

Katy Perry performs at The Tivoli in Brisbane, Australia.

Rachel McAdams attends the premiere of her new film "The Time Traveler's Wife" at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York

Ashley Tisdale performs during the Donate Life Concert Series in Glendale, Calif.

Will Ferrell arrives at the premiere of "The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard" at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas

TV personality and model Holly Madison arrives at the Las Vegas premiere of "The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard"

Actress Nicolette Sheridan attends Jesse Garza & Joe Lupo book signing for "Life In Color" at Decade Two in Los Angeles

Brad Pitt attends the premiere of "The Time Traveler's Wife" at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York

Anthony Hopkins, left, and Lucy Punch take five on the set of Woody Allen's new film currently titled "Wasp 09," during filming in London

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Quite an honor

President Barack Obama presents the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom to actor Sidney Poitier during ceremonies in the East Room at the White House on Wednesday, Aug. 12.

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Animal Tracks

A guinea pig named Oreo sits in the grass at the San Francisco Zoo.

A white-tail fawn being weaned by its mother looks up after grazing in a residential yard in West Lake Hills, Texas. The central Texas drought has further emboldened wildlife to seek food nearer humans.

A penguin cools off in the water in the enclosure at the zoo in Frankfurt, Germany.

Two seals swim together after they were set free in the German Waddensea off the island of Juist, Germany, on Aug. 6, 2009. A total of 71 abandoned young common seals were reared at the seal station this season.

A man waits for customers for an elephant ride in Jaipur, India.

Two flamingos search for food in the outdoor enclosure at Schoenbrunn Zoo in Vienna.

Polar bear Knut takes a bath in his outdoor enclosure at the zoo in Berlin, Germany. According to a German newspaper, Knut will soon cease to be alone, as polar bear Gianna from Munich is to be his partner. However, neither of the two zoos has confirmed the information as yet.

Lions Aquiles and Helena walk next to some of their cubs at the Parque Lecoq Zoo in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Kalli looks out of a basket on board a vessel in Norddeich, Germany. Five baby seals, which have been raised in the seal-breeding station in Norddeich, will be returned to the wild.

Native ducks move toward a pond in a farming village in Temanggung, Central Java. The poultry industry is picking up in Indonesia following preventive measures over avian flu.

After a trip from San Jose, Calif., to Vacaville, Calif., Katie, left, gives trailer mate Buddy a peck on the cheek while their owner stops to grab some lunch.

A pelican is pictured in its enclosure on a sunny day at Schoenbrunn Zoo in Vienna, Austria.

Gana, a mother gorilla, holds her young baby in their enclosure at the zoo in the western German city of Muenster. The baby, named Claudia, was born a day earlier at the zoo.

A newborn Asian elephant stands with other members of its herd at the ZSL Whipsnade Zoo in Whipsnade, England.

Buckley, the 9-year-old beaver at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, Wash., nibbles on a fruit, veggie and juice popsicle to cool down during the 100-plus degree weather.

Polar bears play in the water in their enclosure on a sunny day at the Schoenbrunn Zoo in Vienna, Austria.

A 2-month-old albino wallaby, born in captivity, stands with another wallaby in their enclosure at a private zoo in the district of Paphos, Cyprus.

David Lawrence talks to Pete the moose in Irasburg, Vt. Pete was raised by 73-year-old Lawrence, who nursed the then-newborn moose back to health after Pete had been injured by dogs.

A monarch butterfly is covered with droplets of water while resting in a cooling mist spray in the butterfly pavilion at the Elkton Community Education Center in Elkton, Ore.

A 12-day-old hippopotamus swims next to its mother, Chombi, at Malaysia's National Zoo in Kuala Lumpur. The baby hippopotamus has not yet been given a name.

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Pictures of the day