The Political Week in Photos

Catastrophic floods that killed at least 200 people and wiped out swathes of homes in Germany’s richest region have shifted the optics in the battle to replace Chancellor Angela Merkel in October’s elections.

In the U.S., Joe Biden marked his six-month anniversary as president by underscoring the strength of the economic recovery, even as top health officials warned that widespread skepticism toward vaccines is fueling a dangerous new wave of Covid-19’s delta variant.