The phone call came from a charming woman with a bright, engaging voice to the cell phone of a TIME Washington Bureau Chief Michael Scherer. She wanted to offer a deal on health insurance, but something was fishy.

The Steller sea lion is a near threatened species of sea lion in the northern Pacific. While the populations of the eastern and Asian stocks appear stable, the population of the western stock, particularly along the Aleutian Islands, was estimated to have fallen by 70–80% since the 1970s.

Korean visual artist Jee Young Lee, has an imagination and level of patience few posses. She has handily created all of the following images herself, all housed inside her tiny studio which measure...

A group of firefighters holding back a wall of fire. Taken by Cedric Sacilotto.