Heat blankets much of US as summer sizzles

Children run through a sprinkler system installed inside a playground to cool off during a hot summer day in New York, July 17, 2013. Temperatures in New York City, the nation's biggest metropolitan area, soared into the upper 90s Fahrenheit for a third straight day on Wednesday and the National Weather Service issued heat advisories for dozens of northeastern cities and surrounding areas in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and upstate New York. [Photo/Agencies]