U.N. monitors in Syria leave their Damascus hotel on Wednesday on a mission. A day earlier, their U.N. colleagues were at the scene of a major clash in northern Syria that left more than 30 Syrians dead. Louai Beshara/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

A working gas well head is fenced in just opposite of a home in Dish, Texas. Dish is about 30 miles north of Fort Worth. David Gilkey/NPR hide caption

U.S. Marines are shown during a training exercise south of Darwin, Australia. Marines recently arrived in Australia as part of a move by the U.S. to place greater emphasis on Asia and the Pacific. Glenn Campbell/The Sydney Morning Herald/Fairfax Media via Getty Images hide caption

The Shaolin Warriors, from Shaolin Monastery in central China, put on a demonstration of traditional kung fu fighting techniques, with some crowd-pleasing stunts thrown in. They had never performed with a circus before this year. Courtesy of UniverSoul Circus hide caption

Nebraska state Sen. Deb Fischer applauds supporters at her election party Tuesday in Lincoln, Neb. At right is Fischer's mother, Florence Strobel. Nati Harnik/AP hide caption

Sen. Dick Lugar, R-Ind., crosses the finish line of the 3-mile Capital Challenge charity race with Olympic marathoner Meb Keflezighi. It was Lugar's 31st race, and his last as a senator after he lost a primary challenge this month. Javaun Moradi/NPR hide caption

How much for that thumb? Paul Sakuma/AP hide caption

Orca L112, also known as Victoria, was 3 years old when she washed up on the Washington coast. An investigation into her death has been inconclusive. Center for Whale Research hide caption

Bring on the caffeine — maybe. antwerpenR/Flickr.com hide caption

Artist Richard Prince is appealing the 2011 ruling that found him liable for copyright infringement. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc via Getty Images hide caption