Floods and Heat Sweep the United States

Torrential rainfall caused widespread flooding today in the river valleys and mountain towns of New York State and western New England. One woman died, and dozens more were rescued from rising waters. The Northeast is forecast to receive several more days of rain, especially in Vermont, where officials warned of “life-threatening flash flooding” throughout the day. Follow our live updates.

“My friends, this is the new normal,” Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York said, referring to the impacts of climate change on flooding. People must “be prepared for the worst,” she said, “because the worst continues to happen.” This year, a powerful El Niño developing in the Pacific Ocean is poised to unleash additional heat, fueling yet more severe weather around the globe.

A “heat dome” of high pressure is causing dangerous temperatures in the Southwest. Arizona has already recorded nine consecutive days above 110 degrees, with no relief expected for a least a week. More broadly, 50 million people across the United States live in the areas expected to have dangerous levels of heat.

Near you: Take a look at our trackers to see if your hometown is likely to receive dangerous heat or excessive rain over the next few days.

Turkey clears the way for Sweden to join NATO

In a surprising reversal, Turkey agreed to support Sweden’s bid to join NATO — clearing the last remaining major barrier to expanding the alliance. Sweden’s entry would be a significant blow to Vladimir Putin, who has sought to halt NATO’s expansion.

It was not clear why Turkey decided to change its stance. The move, announced on the eve of a NATO summit, came just hours after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan demanded that the E.U. advance Turkey’s bid to join the bloc as a condition for him to support Sweden’s NATO bid.

Just days ago, Turkey appeared dug in, demanding that Sweden crack down on dissidents whom Turkey considers terrorists.

The Kremlin described a meeting between Putin and Prigozhin

For the last two weeks, the Kremlin has spread confusion about the fate of Yevgeny Prigozhin. First, when he called off his armed mutiny, the government said that he would live in exile in Belarus and not face charges. Then, once it became clear that Prigozhin hadn’t left Russia for good, the Kremlin said it had neither the ability nor interest in tracking his whereabouts.

Today, following a report in a French newspaper, the Kremlin changed its story again. A spokesman said that on June 29 — just days after the rebellion — Prigozhin met with Vladimir Putin for three hours and discussed “further employment options” for his troops. The meeting is the first known contact between the two men since the June 23-24 uprising.

But the Kremlin’s account of the meeting left a host of unanswered questions.Even Prigozhin’s current whereabouts remain a mystery.

Larry Nassar was stabbed in prison

Larry Nassar, the doctor convicted of sexually abusing young female gymnasts, is in stable condition after being stabbed multiple times by another inmate at the federal prison in Florida where he is serving a 60-year sentence. The attack is the latest in a series of suicides and violent attacks in the chronically understaffed Federal Bureau of Prisons, including the deaths of Theodore Kaczynski, known as the Unabomber; Jeffrey Epstein and Whitey Bulger.

More top news

Hollywood writers turn their ire on Ryan Murphy

Screenwriters are now in their 11th week on strike, and the vast majority of American movie and television projects have gone on pause. One notable outlier is the “American Horror Story” franchise, produced by the well-known showrunner Ryan Murphy. Last week, striking writers and their allies picketed one of Murphy’s shooting locations for a so-called Horror/Fantasy Theme Day, with many dressed in costumes as they carried signs that decried “horror wages.”

Actors could soon find themselves on the picket lines as well. Their union, known as SAG-AFTRA, has extended its contract negotiations with studios and streaming services through Wednesday. A strike by both the actors’ and writers’ unions at the same time would essentially shut down Hollywood.

Get ready for some homers

Baseball’s most prolific power hitters will swing for the fences tonight in M.L.B.’s Home Run Derby. The competition — which is generally considered the most exciting of baseball’s All-Star events — will be broadcast at 8 p.m. Eastern time on ESPN.

The derby will feature eight hitters trying to see who can hit the most balls out of the park. This year’s competition includes big name sluggers like Mookie Betts and Pete Alonso, who has won two of the last three derbies. The Athletic will be covering it live.

Just a little bit late

Last month, the New Bedford Free Public Library in Massachusetts received a book that was long overdue — a common occurrence at libraries. But this book, James Clerk Maxwell’s “An Elementary Treatise on Electricity,” was different. It was supposed to be returned nearly 120 years ago.

When the book was checked out, the library charged a one-cent late fee per day, a fine that could have added up to about $430. But luckily for the anonymous borrower or the heirs, those fees were capped at $2 to encourage people to return overdue books.

Have a timely evening.

Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Matthew

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