Record Heat Hits the Northeast

As dangerous heat spread to the most populous region in the U.S. today, spiking temperatures and a blanket of oppressive humidity prompted heat warnings in New England and the Mid-Atlantic states.

By tomorrow, 118 million Americans could be in danger as the heat index, a measure that combines temperature and humidity, passes 100 degrees, according to a New York Times analysis of National Weather Service and U.S. Census Bureau data.

July is on track to be the Earth’s hottest month on record. The sweltering weather has already made work dangerous for many people. Leisure time is also under pressure as camps have canceled outdoor activities and vacation plans are scrapped.

After this summer’s heat wave ebbs, even hotter temperatures could lie ahead. That’s because we’re entering what forecasters warn could be a period of exceptional warmth, spurred by human-caused global warming and the multiyear El Niño weather pattern, which is just getting started.

The very way we experience summer — as a sometimes lazy, sometimes frenetic break — may soon be upended, my colleague David Gelles wrote. “It’s not hard to imagine a future where summer no longer conjures up innocent visions of ice cream, sunbathing and swimming,” he said.

Near you: Check out our tracker to see your heat forecast.

Ukraine’s offensive seeks to split Russian territory

President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that attacks on his troops in Ukraine had escalated “in a significant way,” a day after U.S. officials said that the Ukrainians were now engaged in the main part of their counteroffensive. That effort, officials in Kyiv said, is aiming to drive a wedge through Russian-occupied territory in southern Ukraine.

The goal of this new phase of the counteroffensive is to reach the Sea of Azov, effectively cutting the overland route from Russia to the occupied Crimean Peninsula and greatly compromising Russia’s ability to resupply its forces. But it won’t be easy; fortified Russian troops have slowed the advance and the Ukrainians have suffered heavy losses.

Trump’s lawyers meet with prosecutors as charges loom

Federal prosecutors and Donald Trump’s lawyers met this morning as prosecutors edged closer to an indictment of the former president in connection with his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The meeting with the officials from the office of the special counsel, Jack Smith, offered the lawyers a chance to make any last-ditch arguments.

A similar gathering took place last month at the Justice Department just days before prosecutors in Smith’s office filed charges accusing Trump of illegally holding onto highly sensitive documents after leaving the White House. The charges associated with the Jan. 6 case would be the most serious that Trump has faced so far.

The U.S. economy looks strong

Buoyant consumer spending and resurgent business investment helped the G.D.P. grow this spring at a 2.4 percent annual rate, according to data released today. It was the fourth consecutive quarter of growth, keeping a recession at bay.

The recent stretch of good economic news has left a number of people optimistic that the U.S. will be able to sustain stable prices and low unemployment for the foreseeable future. The problem is that this was also the conventional wisdom before the recessions of 2007, 2001 and 1990.

More top news

We’re sending art to the moon

Starting this fall, a series of unmanned rockets will carry a vast multimedia archive telling stories of the world’s people through creative arts to the moon.

The Lunar Codex, as the archive is called, is a collection of digitized or miniaturized contemporary art, poetry, magazines, music, film, podcasts and books by 30,000 artists, writers, musicians and filmmakers in 157 countries. The project, which is intentionally broad and diverse, includes prints from war-torn Ukraine and poetry from countries threatened by climate change.

Consider putting down your phone

Mobile phones have in many ways become a boon for relationships: You can now connect with almost any person, in any place, at any time. But their overuse can be insidious.

The modern phenomenon of ignoring a partner in favor of a phone can lead to feelings of distrust and ostracism. Research from last year even linked it with marital dissatisfaction. Experts we spoke to suggested that couples struggling with phones set boundaries together; perhaps the dinner table is not the best place to scroll through Instagram.

Counting all the king’s swans

Among Britain’s most unusual laws is a centuries-old one that gives the monarch, in this case King Charles III, the right to claim the country’s mute swans. So every year, the royals send a group of boats down the River Thames to count them all.

This year’s count was a disappointing one for the king, as well as for conservationists who use the tradition as an annual census of the fowl. Along a 79-mile stretch, just 94 young swans were spotted — a 40 percent drop from last year and the lowest number in more than a decade.

Have a fanciful evening.

Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Matthew

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