23 Deaths Blamed on Excessive Heat

Scorching heat gripped the eastern third of the country, continuing a hot spell that has been blamed for at least 23 deaths--including an elderly Illinois woman found inside her 102-degree home. Heat advisories were posted from Kansas eastward through the Ohio Valley, and over parts of the Southeast. Temperatures throughout the region hit the 90s and reached triple digits with the heat index. The weather was blamed on seven deaths in Cincinnati over the weekend, 11 deaths in Illinois in the last week and five in Missouri.