A record-breaking heatwave spread across the eastern U.S. on Wednesday (1 July), placing tens of millions of people under heat alerts just days before the country's 250th Independence Day celebrations.
Forecasters warned "real-feel" temperatures could reach between 38C and 46C across parts of the Midwest, Northeast and South, increasing the risk of heat-related illness and adding pressure to already strained power grids.
In Chicago, officials urged residents to check on elderly relatives and vulnerable neighbours, while in New York City, hundreds of cooling centres were opened and "cool vans" were deployed with water, meals and medical supplies.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the city had also extended public pool opening hours and expanded outreach to homeless residents.
Energy providers in New York urged customers to reduce electricity use during peak hours, as rising demand for air conditioning added to wider pressure on the electricity grid.
The extreme heat is expected to persist into the 4 July holiday weekend, when Americans will mark the nation's 250th anniversary with large-scale celebrations.
The White House's Freedom 250 Commission has planned what organisers say could become the world's largest fireworks display, with more than 860,000 fireworks set to be launched in Washington.
The 40-minute "Salute to America" show is expected to be the centrepiece of the celebrations, despite concerns over the weather and public safety in the intense heat.
The U.S. heatwave mirrors deadly conditions in western Europe, where extreme temperatures have already claimed more than 1,000 lives in Spain. Scientists say such heatwaves are becoming more frequent and more intense because of human-driven climate change fuelled by greenhouse gas emissions.
The 81st UN General Assembly returns for its third day in New York on Thursday, with world leaders delivering high-level speeches and holding diplo...
As the Ukraine war is highlighted by some leaders during the United Nations' 81st General Assembly meetin...
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained low on Thursday, as Iran reiterated that it will neither enter into new negotiations with th...
As the Ukraine war is highlighted by some leaders during the United Nations' 81st General Assembly meeting in New York, Russian forces attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on Thursday with ballistic missiles, killing two people and injuring six, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in New York on Wednesday, as Washington pushes for an end to the war in Ukraine and Kyiv and Moscow continue to strike energy infrastructure.
U.S. President Donald Trump is addressing the UN General Assembly as world leaders gather in New York for the 81st session. Conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, global security and diplomacy set to dominate the event.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained low on Thursday, as Iran reiterated that it will neither enter into new negotiations with the United States nor re-open the Strait as long as its conditions are not met, despite recent indirect talks in New York mediated by Qatar.
U.S. President Donald Trump said his team held a three-hour meeting with an Iranian delegation in New York that he described as “very good” and “productive”, with another round of talks scheduled soon.
As the Ukraine war is highlighted by some leaders during the United Nations' 81st General Assembly meeting in New York, Russian forces attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on Thursday with ballistic missiles, killing two people and injuring six, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
The 81st UN General Assembly returns for its third day in New York on Thursday, with world leaders delivering high-level speeches and holding diplomatic meetings. Restoring trust, managing global transformation, peace and security, and international cooperation remain at the centre of discussions.
Australia says an OpenAI AI agent gained unauthorised access to a government Medicare statistics portal in June, in what officials say could be an unprecedented case of an AI system breaching a government network.
Pakistan says it carried out air strikes on 10 locations in Afghanistan on Thursday, targeting sites it said were used to store and launch drones, as tensions between the two neighbouring countries continued to escalate.
Here’s your AnewZ Daily Brief for 24 September 2026, with five key developments from the second day of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
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