The official start of summer is still days away, but the Midwest today was already enveloped in extreme levels of heat and humidity that could last throughout much of the week. The heat index — a measure of how the temperature feels — hit 102 degrees in Cincinnati.
Similarly sweltering conditions are expected to push into the Northeast beginning tomorrow and continuing into the weekend. The area sometimes reaches such high temperatures in late July or August, but it will be a drastic change for millions of Americans who have grown accustomed to several months of mostly comfortable temperatures. Here’s what to expect where you live.
“What makes this concerning to forecasters is that it is an early season heat wave,” The Times’s meteorologist, Judson Jones, told me. “Some places are 10-20 degrees above where it should be this time of the year.”
Judson said it was also concerning that the heat was expected in many areas to stick around. “It’s the first one of the season and it’s going to be sweltering for four or five days,” he warned. “The body hasn’t really adapted for summer heat yet.”
Environmental, labor and health care groups filed a petition today to push the federal government to declare extreme heat and wildfire smoke as major disasters, unlocking funding for cooling centers, health screenings, and other preparations.
From tomorrow to Thursday as many as 75 record highs, both daily and for the month, are expected. The June heat wave in the U.S. follows what was the hottest May worldwide on record — and the 12th consecutive month in which the average global temperature was the highest on record for that month.
Stay safe and cool: We asked emergency room doctors what the public should know about extreme heat. Here’s their advice. We also have heat-related travel tips.
A pause in combat took hold along a Gaza aid route
The Israeli military said today that it had paused combat operations during daylight hours near a border crossing in southern Gaza, a new policy that officials said would continue every day “until further notice.”
Aid workers in Gaza said they were cautiously hopeful that the daily pauses — which apply only to a seven-mile stretch of road in southern Gaza — would allow them to more easily and safely deliver much needed food and supplies. Still, agencies warned that other restrictions on movement, as well as lawlessness, made food distribution difficult.
In related news, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved his war cabinet after the departures of two key members. This is who’s left in his inner circle.
Surgeon General called for warnings on social media
The U.S. Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, said today that he would push Congress to require a warning label on social media platforms similar to those on tobacco and alcohol products. The labels would advise parents that they could harm teenagers’ mental health.
“There is no seatbelt for parents to click, no helmet to snap in place, no assurance that trusted experts have investigated and ensured that these platforms are safe for our kids,” Murthy wrote in Times Opinion. Read his full essay here.
For interested parents, we collected some expert tips for weaning kids off social media.
More top news
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Russia: President Vladimir Putin, seeking munitions, plans to visit North Korea this week, for the first time in nearly 25 years.
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New Jersey: George Norcross, a once-powerful Democratic kingmaker, was charged with racketeering.
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Trade: After the E.U. imposed extra tariffs of up to 38 percent on China’s electric cars, Beijing threatened to impose tariffs on European pork imports.
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Maryland: Gov. Wes Moore pardoned 175,000 convictions related to marijuana use.
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Crime: Prosecutors in the Gilgo Beach killings case introduced into evidence what they described as the suspect’s “planning document.”
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Health: More women in Africa are using long-acting contraception, resulting in tangible gains.
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A.I.: Companies are leveraging the new technology to remake drug discovery, and A.I.-developed drugs are already in clinical trials.
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Bird flu: The H5N1 virus is infecting cats, and the occasional dog. Here’s what to know about it — and what a pandemic might look like in people.
The highlights from Broadway’s biggest night
Attendees of last night’s Tony Awards might remember the show for the music, the fashion or the all-night partying. But the Tonys also set the tone for the year on Broadway. So I asked our theater reporter Michael Paulson what to take away from the awards.
“All of the performers who won were first-time winners, which is exciting, and they included some well-known actors, among them Daniel Radcliffe, Jeremy Strong, Sarah Paulson and Jonathan Groff,” he said. “And this awards season reminded us that nonprofit theaters, which are facing all kinds of very serious challenges, remain a key source of this country’s best theater: All of the nominees for best new musical and for best new play were nurtured by nonprofit theaters.”
June is when Olympic dreams live or die
When the Summer Olympics begin next month in Paris, many American athletes will be fulfilling their lifelong dream of representing the U.S. at the highest level. But before that, many more hearts will be broken.
Caitlin Clark, the ascendant star of women’s basketball, recently found out that she wouldn’t be going to Paris. Over the next few weeks, hundreds more athletes — many of whom have spent years training to represent Team U.S.A. — will face a series of cutthroat qualifying trials, often alongside training partners and former Olympics teammates.
Have we reached peak baby name?
Celebrities have so often turned to unusual names for their children that it has spawned a recurring joke in which people on social media sarcastically suggest that they would name their child after something they like: “I love you, my little Diet Coke” or “Goodnight, queso.”
Does that mean that the era of atypical baby names is over? Probably not. We spoke to baby name consultants who get paid hundreds of dollars to come up with names that are “unique but not too out there.”
Have a special evening.
Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Matthew
Phil Pacheco was our photo editor today.
We welcome your feedback. Write to us at evening@nytimes.com.
