NPR News: 07-03-2026 4AM EDT

Giles Snyder· Host0:01

Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder. Forecasters are warning about that heat wave that has much of the central and eastern U.S. in its grip. They say little to no relief is in sight. Megan Borowski is a meteorologist with the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network.

Speaker 20:18

It's all tied to a dome of high pressure that's building over the eastern half of the United States, and that air is sinking, and as it sinks, it warms. And so also with the sinking air, our warm air is going to be trapped at the surface. It's got nowhere to go, and so we experience those very warm temperatures, uh, at the surface of the Earth.

Giles Snyder· Host0:40

The National Weather Service says the heat wave will be focused on the eastern U.S. through the Independence Day weekend, with peak feels like temperatures up to one hundred fifteen degrees. Before there was July fourth, there was July second, when the Second Continental Congress voted to break away from Great Britain, two days before the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Around three dozen members of the current Congress joined a ceremonial session in Philadelphia to commemorate the event. Carmen Russell Sluchansky of member station WHYY reports on the bipartisan affair.

Carmen Russell Sluchansky1:13

Members assembled at Congress Hall, where the first U.S. Congress met. It was presided over by Pennsylvania Republican Glenn Thompson and included speeches by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Democrat Brendan Boyle, who represents the district that includes