People cool off with their dogs at the dog-friendly section of Montrose Beach on June 30, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. High humidity and temperatures in the 90s with heat indices above 100 degrees are expected to remain in the city for the next several days. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — As outdoor celebrations and events marking the nation’s 250th anniversary and the World Cup reach their peak, local officials across the country are urging caution amid a heat wave blanketing many East Coast and Midwestern states. The National Weather Service has issued an extreme heat warning for parts of about 20 states, including for the entirety of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. In a warning issued early Wednesday, the weather service advised that temperatures will be in the upper 90s through the weekend, with many locations reaching highs of well over 100 degrees. It estimated that the peak heat index will reach up to 115 degrees in some areas across the Mississip...
Jennifer Conway, left, is sworn in as a member of the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles by Cam War, director of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles on Wednesday, July, 1, 2026. (Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles) Gov. Kay Ivey Wednesday appointed Jennifer Conway to fill the lone vacancy on the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles. Conway succeeds former board member Darryl Littleton, who stepped down from the board in January to serve as the deputy director of administration and law enforcement services for the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles. Conway, a special agent for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), began her career in the agency in 2001 and began work in Alabama in 2003, where she investigated gang-related trafficking and criminal enterprises. She was promoted to resident agent in 2016, overseeing special agents and task force offices in the U.S. Middle District of Alabama. “I cannot think of a more qualified person to sit o...