Hurricane Beryl, which tore through Caribbean islands this week, became the earliest Category 5 hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic.
A Category 5 is the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with sustained winds of 157 mph or greater.
Beryl’s strength fluctuated as it traveled toward Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. But it was only the second Category 5 to ever be recorded in the Atlantic in the month of July.
The storm’s strength has been fed by abnormally warm ocean waters driven by planet-warming fossil fuel pollution.
“Hurricanes don’t know what month it is. They only know what their ambient environment is,” Jim Kossin, a hurricane expert and science advisor at nonprofit First Street Foundation, told CNN.
Here are some of the stories that made headlines over the past week, as well as some photos that caught our eye.
![People on jet skis watch as the Thompson Fire burns in Oroville, California, on Tuesday, July 2. Because of the wildfire, thousands of people have been <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/03/us/thompson-fire-california-heat-wave/index.html">ordered to evacuate </a>in Northern California.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip02-ap24185019063899-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![US President Joe Biden talks on the phone as he heads to Camp David with his wife, Jill, and granddaughters Finnegan and Natalie on Saturday, June 29. Following the president’s disastrous debate performance, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/02/politics/biden-debate-performance-democrats/index.html">a growing number of Democratic leaders are saying they want him to step aside</a> for the good of the party — and the country. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/03/politics/joe-biden-2024-campaign-troubles">Biden has privately acknowledged</a> that the next stretch of days are critical to whether he can save his reelection bid.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip03-h-16225136-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![This 100-foot-wide sinkhole, photographed on Thursday, June 27, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/27/us/video/massive-sinkhole-soccer-field-alton-illinois-digvid">opened up on a turf soccer field</a> after a mine underground collapsed in Alton, Illinois.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip04-2024-06-27t205429z-1790026663-rc2oj8aaqsby-rtrmadp-3-usa-sinkhole-soccer-field-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![Fourth of July fireworks burst above the National Mall in Washington, DC.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/ap24187070853860-20240705030433608.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![People mourn relatives who died in a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/02/asia/india-uttar-pradesh-crush-intl">crowd crush at a religious gathering</a> in Hathras, India, on Tuesday, July 2. More than 100 people were killed.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip05-gettyimages-2160426822-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![Former US President Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee for November’s election, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/30/politics/trump-debate-momentum-convention/index.html">holds a campaign rally</a> in Chesapeake, Virginia, on Friday, June 28.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip06-h-16224856-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![Silverio, a newborn southern white rhinoceros, walks at the Buin Zoo in Santiago, Chile, on Tuesday, July 2. He is just the third white rhino to be born in South America.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip07-gettyimages-2159738105-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![Exit poll results are projected onto the BBC Broadcasting House in London on Thursday, July 4. A major exit poll indicated that the center-left Labour Party <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/04/uk/uk-election-exit-poll-results-labour-conservative-starmer-gbr-intl/index.html">will win Britain's general election by a landslide</a>, ending a 14-year era of Conservative rule in decisive fashion and putting its leader <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2024/07/04/uk/gallery/keir-starmer/index.html">Keir Starmer</a> on course to become prime minister.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/gettyimages-2159953212-20240705031227478.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![Morning fog engulfs the Çamlıca Mosque in Istanbul on Tuesday, July 2.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip09-ap24184183041831-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men block a highway during a protest in Bnei Brak, Israel, on Thursday, June 27. A Supreme Court ruling on June 25 said the Israeli government <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/01/middleeast/ultra-orthodox-in-israel-defy-orders-to-serve-in-military-mime-intl/index.html">must enlist draft-age ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military</a>, reversing a de facto exemption in place since the country’s founding 76 years ago.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip08-ap24179592744589-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![A voter in a medieval costume faces a dog as she comes out of a polling booth in Rodemack, France, on Sunday, June 30. A medieval festival was taking place on the same day that voting was being held for <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/30/europe/macron-france-election-first-round-intl/index.html">the country’s parliamentary elections</a>.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip10-gettyimages-2159350193-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![Jude Bellingham scores an <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/30/sport/england-slovakia-last-16-euro-2024-spt-intl/index.html">exquisite injury-time goal</a> to prevent England from losing their Euro 2024 match to Slovakia on Sunday, June 30. England would go on to win 2-1 in extra time and advance to the quarterfinals.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip11-2024-06-30t181642z-652200536-up1ek6u1ds5df-rtrmadp-3-soccer-euro-eng-svk-report-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![Singer Tyla, who won the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/30/entertainment/bet-awards-2024-see-who-won/index.html">BET Awards</a> for best new artist and best international act, poses in the press room during the show in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 30.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip12-ap24183167621582-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![Journalists run across the Supreme Court plaza, carrying an opinion to a news correspondent, as the court handed down decisions in Washington, DC, on Monday, July 1. The court ruled Monday that Donald Trump may claim immunity from criminal prosecution for some of the actions he took in the waning days of his presidency. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/01/politics/supreme-court-donald-trump-immunity/index.html">The decision</a> will likely further delay a trial on the federal election subversion charges pending against him.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip13-gettyimages-2159564386-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![A woman wades through floodwaters near her submerged house in the Indian village of Sildubi on Tuesday, July 2. Floods and landslides have been triggered by heavy rains in India's northeast.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip14-ap24184356406968-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![Police officers in Nairobi, Kenya, detain a man while stopping people from gathering for a planned demonstration on Thursday, June 27. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/27/africa/kenya-rocked-by-fresh-protests-intl/index.html">A fresh wave of protests swept the country</a> despite President William Ruto’s U-turn on controversial tax plans.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip15-gettyimages-2158876330-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick shared this photo of <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/02/weather/gallery/hurricane-beryl">Hurricane Beryl</a> as seen from space on Monday, July 1. Looking at the hurricane with the camera gave him "both an eerie feeling and a high level of weather nerd excitement," he said in a <a href="https://x.com/dominickmatthew/status/1807850263174066472" target="_blank">post on X</a>.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip16-grbgka7wwaafx70-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone reacts after she <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/01/sport/sydney-mclaughlin-levrone-400m-hurdles-world-record-spt-intl/index.html">broke her own world record in the 400-meter hurdles</a> during the US Olympic Trials on Sunday, June 30. She clocked a time of 50.65 seconds, taking 0.03 seconds off her previous record.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip17-ap24183045784978-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![Dan Craft buys candy with LilyRose Glenn and Reagan Craft at the Pendleton Candy Shop in Pendleton, South Carolina, on Friday, June 28. The shop was celebrating after it was voted the best candy store in the state by the GuideToSouthCarolina.com.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip18-usatsi-23642750-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo is consoled by a teammate during the Euro 2024 match against Slovenia on Monday, July 1. Ronaldo was upset that he had a penalty saved by Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak in extra time, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/01/sport/portugal-slovenia-ronaldo-last-16-euro-2024-spt-intl/index.html">but Portugal went on to win anyway in a penalty shootout</a> after the match ended scoreless. Ronaldo made amends by scoring one of the penalties in the shootout.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip19-gettyimages-2160135989-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![Police officers in Toretsk, Ukraine, help a woman evacuate her home in the war-torn Donetsk region on Friday, June 28.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip20-ap24180729258828-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![India's cricket team celebrates after it defeated South Africa <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/30/sport/india-history-t20-world-cup-spt-intl/index.html">to win the T20 World Cup</a> on Saturday, June 29.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/2024-06-29t000000z-505639657-up1ek6t1i113u-rtrmadp-3-cricket-t20-ind-zaf-report.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![A home in Oroville, California, is engulfed by the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/03/us/thompson-fire-california-heat-wave/index.html">Thompson Fire</a> on Tuesday, July 2.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip21-gettyimages-2159785425-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![Cyclists João Almeida, left, and Primož Roglič compete in the fourth stage of the Tour de France, which ran from Pinerolo, Italy, to Valloire, France, on Tuesday, July 2. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2024/06/sport/cycling-kristof-ramon-cnnphotos/">Related: These photos provide an inside look at the grueling world of professional cycling</a>.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip22-gettyimages-2159717294-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![Palestinian child Tareq Qamar, who according to Reuters was hurt in an Israeli strike that killed his mother, is carried by his aunt as his injured brother Mohammed rests on a bed at the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Tuesday, July 2.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip23-2024-07-02t000000z-552947964-rc2um8a1quaq-rtrmadp-3-israel-palestinians-gaza-child-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![Will Smith, bottom, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/30/entertainment/will-smith-new-music-bet-awards/index.html">performs during the BET Awards</a> on Sunday, June 30. Smith rapped about perseverance in his new gospel-infused song “You Can Make It” featuring Fridayy and the Sunday Service Choir.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip24-ap24183164948349-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![The art installation "Mass,” by Australian sculptor Ron Mueck, is displayed at the Voorlinden Museum in Wassenaar, Netherlands, on Friday, June 28.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip25-gettyimages-2159022410-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![Markéta<strong> </strong>Vondroušová eyes the ball during her first-round match at Wimbledon on Tuesday, July 2. Vondroušová, the tournament’s defending champion, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/02/sport/marketa-vondrousova-jessica-bouzas-maneiro-wimbledon-upset-spt-intl/index.html">was stunned by Bouzas Maneiro</a> in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip26-gettyimages-2159709529-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![People are reflected during a hot day in New York City on Thursday, June 27.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip27-2024-06-28t005847z-1762268994-rc2vj8aofqii-rtrmadp-3-usa-weather-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![Former Donald Trump White House strategist Steve Bannon, right, arrives outside a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut, on Monday, July 1, to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/01/politics/steve-bannon-report-to-prison/index.html">begin a four-month sentence for defying a congressional subpoena</a>.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip28-h-16225359-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![A woman photographs a rainbow in a parking lot in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Tuesday, July 2.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/ap24186725275214.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![A young fan in Rio de Janeiro watches Brazil’s soccer team play a Copa América match in Santa Clara, California, on Tuesday, July 2.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip30-ap24185106604581-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![A jabiru stork stands in its nest Thursday, June 27, after being saved by firefighters in Corumbá, Brazil. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/14/americas/brazil-pantanal-wetland-fires-intl-latam/index.html">Fires in June broke historical records in Brazil’s Pantanal</a>, the largest tropical wetland on Earth.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip31-gettyimages-2158930800-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![Kansas City Royals center fielder Kyle Isbel catches a fly ball during a Major League Baseball game against Tampa Bay on Wednesday, July 3.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip32-ap24186128724034-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![Military cadets pose for group photos at their graduation ceremony in Taipei, Taiwan, on Thursday, June 27.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip33-2024-06-27t054841z-2000326301-rc2ej8a4c43b-rtrmadp-3-taiwan-defence-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![In this photo, which was taken with an infrared thermal imaging camera, a Ukrainian soldier surveys an area in the country’s Kharkiv region on Monday, July 1.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip34-gettyimages-2159692499-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![A worker cleans a window of a train at the Hua Lamphong Railway Station in Bangkok, Thailand, on Thursday, June 27.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip35-ap24179287600249-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)
![Two people embrace each other in the fountain at Washington Square Park after the New York City Pride March on Sunday, June 30. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/28/world/gallery/the-week-in-38-photos/index.html">See last week in 38 photos</a>.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/wip36-gettyimages-2159422291-jpg.jpg?q=w_1576,c_fill)