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A new study from Virginia Commonwealth University published by the Center for American Progress has reported that the heat wave running rampant across the U.S. is significantly inflating health care costs. The authors of the study — an interdisciplinary group of faculty, staff and students from the university — estimated that heat events each summer are responsible for nearly 235,000 emergency department visits and over 56,000 hospital admissions for heat-related or heat-adjacent illnesses. In total, this is believed to add approximately $1 billion in health care costs across the country each summer. (Boyce, 7/19)

An unrelenting heat wave that has blanketed the the Southwestern U.S. continued to break records Wednesday, inflicting misery in major cities and offering what experts described as a disturbing glimpse into the future as human-caused climate change increases the frequency and duration of extreme heat events. (Herrera, Smith, Lin and Spencer, 7/19)

A deadly heat wave continues across the Southwest, and an often forgotten group of people affected are prisoners. Many inmates struggle to stay cool in aging facilities, including in Texas — where some 100,000 prisoners live in large facilities that lack air conditioning. (Flahive, 7/19)

The World Health Organization on Wednesday urged governments and local authorities to set up a strong surveillance system for people who are most at risk of severe symptoms from a heatwave that is baking the northern hemisphere. People with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and diabetes, as well as pregnant women, children and homeless people, are seen as the most vulnerable to heatwaves that have scorched parts of Europe, Asia and the United States this week. (7/19)

Air quality levels in Portland, Ore., reached “unhealthy” levels and were among the worst in the nation on Wednesday. Although wildfires in the region and beyond have been behind some of the recent spikes in air quality levels, this time the culprit was a factory fire an hour north of the city. A paper mill, Nippon Dynawave Packaging in Longview, Wash., caught fire on Tuesday night and was still burning as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the Longview Fire Department. (Carballo, 7/19)

A tornado heavily damaged a major Pfizer pharmaceutical plant in North Carolina on Wednesday, while torrential rain flooded communities in Kentucky and an area from California to South Florida endured more scorching heat. Pfizer confirmed that the large manufacturing complex was damaged by a twister that touched down shortly after midday near Rocky Mount, but said in an email that it had no reports of serious injuries. A later company statement said all employees were safely evacuated and accounted for. (Finley and Schoenbaum, 7/19)