Nation IN BRIEF : NATIONWIDE : Rains Swamp East; Plains Turn Cool

Days of heavy rains in the Eastern part of the nation caused rivers and streams to overflow. But residents in the Plains awoke to record cool weather in the middle of a month known for its often-wilting heat. Temperatures dropped to unseasonable levels for the date during the morning across much of the Plains and Mississippi Valley, tying or breaking records in at least 24 cities in Colorado, Iowa, Texas, Kansas, Louisiana and Nebraska. Marquette, Mich., had a temperature of 43. The National Weather Service said showers and thunderstorms extended from New Jersey and Pennsylvania to Florida.