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A heat dome can bring dangerously high temperatures. What is it?

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A heat dome can bring dangerously high temperatures. What is it?

People chat while having drinks under a mister at a restaurant in Phoenix on Wednesday. According to the National Weather Service, Phoenix will experience record temperatures soaring over 100 degrees due to a heat dome stemming from high pressure in the atmosphere.

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Much of the Western U.S. is experiencing extreme heat this week — with temperatures easily topping 100. Blame a condition known as a heat dome. But what is it?

If you want to visualize how a heat dome can trap a region in intensely hot weather, picture yourself making a grilled cheese sandwich.

“It almost acts like a lid on a pot,” the National Weather Service’s Alex Lamers tells NPR. He’s the operations branch chief at the Weather Prediction Center.

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“If you’ve made grilled cheese in a pan and you put a lid on there, it melts the cheese faster because the lid helps trap the heat and makes it a little bit warmer,” Lamers says. “It’s a similar concept here: You get a big high-pressure system in the upper parts of the atmosphere and it allows that heat to build underneath over multiple days.”

The heat dome that’s currently putting a hot lid on the Western U.S. will bring high temperatures that are 20 to 30 degrees hotter than normal for early June, the National Weather Service said. The forecast has both Phoenix and Las Vegas hitting 112 on Thursday, and the heat will stick around at night, falling only to the low 80s.

Here’s a guide to heat domes — and how you can stay safe:

How many people are affected by heat right now?

Some 20 million Americans, from California to Texas, were living under a federal excessive heat advisory as of Wednesday, with forecasters issuing alarms about the heat dome in the Western U.S.

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Another 11 million people were under heat advisories.

“We are bracing already here in Tucson,” says Joellen Russell, a climate scientist and distinguished professor at the University of Arizona, where she also heads the Department of Geosciences.

“We’re going to be 108 or 109 starting [Thursday], and that will persist for three days, which is consistent with our definition of a heat wave, although we’ve been over 100 now for more than a week.”

What is a heat dome?

They’re generally caused by large high-pressure systems in the atmosphere. And they’re massive, linked to a ridge of high pressure. If the term “ridge” makes you think of a mountain feature, you need to go bigger: the term refers to curves in the jet stream.

“It would typically be several states,” Lamers said of the scale. “A third to half of the country.”

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Russell says the jet stream behavior is “producing these stagnant high-pressure systems that are associated with extreme heat and drought,”

The jet stream normally spreads big storms — but right now, it’s too far north to bring moisture and potential relief to the Southwest.

“If it was blowing through Arizona, we’d be maybe even rainy,” Russell says. “But of course, it’s locked up there in northern Montana and instead where we’re experiencing warmer and warmer and warmer conditions.”

And when a heat dome sits over a large land area, Lamers says, a sort of feedback loop can take hold. High pressure typically means dry weather, which can help drive the heat even higher.

How much hotter does it get?

It depends on where you are, but if you’re enduring a heat dome, you’ll likely notice highs that are hotter than normal for that time of year. People in higher elevations, like among mountains, might avoid the worst effects.

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“But it’s definitely easier to achieve those really hot temperatures in an absolute sense at lower elevations, in valleys” and urban areas, Lamers says.

How long do heat domes usually last?

They can last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, Lamers says. “It really just depends on the overall weather pattern.”

In Tucson, a long stretch of extremely high temperatures is in the forecast.

“We’re expecting it to be up to 108 or 109 over the next few days,” Russell says. “It’ll come back down to be in the hundreds and then it’ll go back up to very, very hot. So there won’t be a real break over the next, say, 10 days.”

But it’s hard to predict how long a heat dome will persist, because they’re linked to the behavior of the jet stream.

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“If the jet would swing south and break it up, that would be amazing — especially if it rained,” Russell says. But right now, she adds, the stream is likely to leave everyone from Idaho on south in very high heat.

Kids play in a splash pad at Riverview Park on Wednesday in Mesa, Ariz. Experts warn to make sure any outdoor play time includes plenty of water and shade — and breaks from the heat — during an extended heat wave.

Kids play in a splash pad at Riverview Park on Wednesday in Mesa, Ariz. Experts warn to make sure any outdoor play time includes plenty of water and shade — and breaks from the heat — during an extended heat wave.

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Does climate change cause heat domes?

The consensus from U.S. and international reports on climate change is that heat extremes are becoming more common, Lamers notes.

“You can get a heat dome or a configuration of the weather pattern that is similar to past cases,” he says. “But it’s going to be easier to achieve more extreme temperatures as a consequence of global warming.”

“We have more frequent heat waves now here in the U.S. and worldwide,” Russell says. “They are more frequent and they last longer.”

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How can people stay safe in a heat dome?

“Heat is actually the deadliest weather-related hazard in the United States,” Lamers says, putting it above attention-grabbing events like tornadoes and hurricanes.

“What makes them so deadly,” Russell says, “is that people don’t understand that it’s not the first day of the heat wave that kills you. It’s the third or the fourth. You know, somebody decides at lunchtime to put their laundry out and it can be less than 15 or 20 minutes and you can have heatstroke.”

Russell, who is also a member of the nonpartisan group Science Moms, says she takes extra precautions with her kids, like getting a big, wide hat for her son, who’s a lifeguard. And because of the heat, the Tucson resident says, “we’re up at 5 to walk the dog so they don’t burn their little feet on the pavement.”

Russell says pools in her area will stay open longer, to give children a safe option to play outside. She’s also a big fan of sail shades, which protect kids at splash pads and help save water.

“We’ll also have cooling stations,” she says, and libraries will be open longer hours.

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To stay safe during the day, people should take extreme heat seriously, staying hydrated and finding ways to break their exposure.

“And look out for other people in your life — neighbors, family, friends,” Lamers says. “Those community connections are really important to make sure people stay safe.”

Children, the elderly, and people with chronic conditions can be especially vulnerable. Lamers says anyone who isn’t getting a chance to cool off at night should pay special attention.

“We find this a lot, that actually the minimum temperatures have a pretty high correlation to fatality rates in these types of events,” Lamers says. “Basically, if Mother Nature isn’t allowing you to cool yourself down naturally at night with just the overnight temperatures, then it becomes really important that you find a way yourself to break that exposure to the heat.”

Track your heat risk in the U.S.

A new tool lets you see a map of dangerous heat across the contiguous country: The HeatRisk index comes from a collaboration by NOAA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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The color-coded map has a seven-day forecast, aiming to help people understand the health risks they could face.

Level 4, or magenta, is the most extreme category, signifying “rare and/or long-duration extreme heat with little to no overnight relief” that can affect anyone who doesn’t get enough hydration or cooling to mitigate the high temperatures.

But even if your area is orange, or at Level 2, you should still take care. In those conditions, most people who are sensitive to heat will be affected — especially if they don’t have ways to cool off, and stay hydrated.

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Trump Says Israel and Lebanon Agree to Extend Cease-Fire by Three Weeks

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Trump Says Israel and Lebanon Agree to Extend Cease-Fire by Three Weeks

President Trump announced a three-week extension of a cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon that had been set to expire in a few days, after hosting a meeting between Israeli and Lebanese diplomats at the White House on Thursday.

Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group that has been attacking Israel from southern Lebanon, did not have representatives at the meeting and did not immediately comment on the announcement. The prime minister of Israel and the president of Lebanon also did not comment.

A successful peace agreement would hinge upon Hezbollah halting attacks, which Lebanon’s government has little power to enforce because it does not control the militia. Lebanon’s military has mostly stayed out of the fighting and is not at war with Israel.

The cease-fire, which was scheduled to end on April 26, would last until May 17 if it takes effect as Mr. Trump described it. Before the cease-fire was brokered last week, nearly 2,300 people were killed in Lebanon and 13 in Israel. Since then, the number of Israeli airstrikes and Hezbollah attacks have been dramatically reduced, though the two sides have continued exchanging fire.

The Lebanese Ambassador to the United States, Nada Hamadeh, credited Mr. Trump for extending the cease-fire, saying that “with your help and support, we can make Lebanon great again.” Mr. Trump replied, “I like that phrase, it’s a good phrase.”

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Asked about the potential of a lasting peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon, Mr. Trump said that “I think there’s a great chance. They are friends about the same things and they are enemies on the same things.”

But Lebanon and Israel have periodically been at war since Israel’s founding in 1948. Israel has invaded Lebanon for the fifth time since 1978, incursions that have destabilized the country and the delicate balance of power between Muslim, Christian and Druze communities.

In the hours before the president’s announcement on social media, Israel and Hezbollah were trading attacks in southern Lebanon, testing the existing cease-fire.

Mr. Trump said the meeting at the White House had been attended by high-ranking U.S. officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the U.S. ambassadors to Israel and Lebanon.

Earlier on Thursday, an Israeli strike near the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh killed three people, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. Hezbollah claimed three separate attacks on Israeli troops who are occupying southern Lebanon, though none were wounded or killed.

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Hezbollah set off the latest round of fighting last month by attacking Israel soon after the start of the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign in Iran. Israel responded to Hezbollah’s attacks by launching airstrikes across Lebanon and widening a ground invasion of the country’s south.

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U.S. soldier charged with suspected Polymarket insider trading over Maduro raid

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U.S. soldier charged with suspected Polymarket insider trading over Maduro raid

Smoke rises from Port of La Guaira in Venezuela on Jan. 3, 2026 after U.S. forces seized the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

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Federal prosecutors on Thursday unsealed an indictment against a U.S. Army soldier, accusing him of using his insider knowledge of the clandestine military operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January to reap more than $400,000 in profits on the popular prediction market site Polymarket.

The Justice Department says Gannon Ken Van Dyke, 38, who was stationed at Fort Bragg, in North Carolina, was part of the team that planned and carried out the predawn raid in Caracas earlier this year that resulted in the apprehension of Maduro.

The Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed the actions against Van Dyke, the first time U.S. officials have leveled criminal charges against someone over prediction market wagers.

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According to the indictment, Van Dyke now faces counts of wire fraud, commodities fraud, misusing non-public government information and other charges.

Trading under numerous usernames including “Burdensome-Mix,” Van Dyke allegedly traded about $32,000 on the arrest of Maduro, resulting in profits exceeding $400,000.

“Prediction markets are not a haven for using misappropriated confidential or classified information for personal gain,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York. “Those entrusted to safeguard our nation’s secrets have a duty to protect them and our armed service members, and not to use that information for personal financial gain.”

Van Dyke’s defense lawyer is not yet publicly known. Polymarket did not return a request for comment.

The charges against Van Dyke come at a sensitive time for the prediction market industry, which has been growing exponentially, despite calls in Washington and among state leaders for the sites to be reined in.

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Van Dyke is the first to be charged in the U.S. for suspected Polymarket insider trading, but Israeli authorities in February arrested several people and charged two on suspicion of using classified information to place bets about military operations in Iran on Polymarket.

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Senate Adopts GOP Budget, Laying the Groundwork to Fund ICE and Reopen DHS

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Senate Adopts GOP Budget, Laying the Groundwork to Fund ICE and Reopen DHS

The Senate early Thursday morning adopted a Republican budget blueprint that would pave the way for a $70 billion increase for immigration enforcement and the eventual reopening of the Department of Homeland Security.

Republicans pushed through the plan on a nearly party-line vote of 50 to 48. It came after an overnight marathon of rapid-fire votes, known as a vote-a-rama, in which the G.O.P. beat back a series of Democratic proposals aimed at addressing the high cost of health care, housing, food and energy. The debate put the two parties’ dueling messages on vivid display six months before the midterm elections.

Republicans, who are using the budget plan to lay the groundwork to eventually push through a filibuster-proof bill providing a multiyear funding stream for President Trump’s immigration crackdown, used the all-night session to highlight their hard-line stance on border security, seeking to portray Democrats as unwilling to safeguard the country.

Democrats tried and failed to add a series of changes aimed at addressing cost-of-living issues, seizing the opportunity to hammer Republicans as out of touch with and unwilling to act on the concerns of everyday Americans.

Here’s what to know about the budget plan and the nocturnal ritual senators engaged in before adopting it.

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The budget blueprint is a crucial piece of Republicans’ plan to fund the Department of Homeland Security and end a shutdown that has lasted for more than two months. After Democrats refused to fund immigration enforcement without new restrictions on agents’ tactics and conduct, the G.O.P. struck a deal with them to pass a spending bill that would fund everything but ICE and the Border Patrol. Republicans said they would fund those agencies through a special budget bill that Democrats could not block.

“We can fix this with Republican votes, and we will,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina and the Budget Committee chairman. “Every Democrat has opposed money for the Border Patrol and ICE at a time of great peril.”

In resorting to a new budget blueprint, Republicans laid the groundwork to deny Democrats a chance to stop the immigration enforcement funding. But they also submitted themselves to a vote-a-rama, in which any senator can propose unlimited changes to such a measure before it is adopted.

The budget measure now goes to the House, which must adopt it before lawmakers in both chambers can draft the legislation funding immigration enforcement. That bill will provide yet another opportunity for a vote-a-rama even closer to the November election.

Democrats took to the floor to criticize Republicans for supercharging funding for federal immigration enforcement rather than moving legislation that would address Americans’ concerns over affordability.

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“This is what Republicans are fighting for,” said Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the Democratic leader. “To maintain two unchecked rogue agencies that are dreaded in all corners of this country instead of reducing your health care costs, your housing costs, your grocery costs, your gas costs.”

Democrats offered a host of amendments along those lines, all of which were defeated by Republicans — and that was the point. The proposals were meant to put the G.O.P. in a tough political spot, showcasing their opposition to helping Americans afford high living costs. Fewer than a handful of G.O.P. senators crossed party lines to support them.

The G.O.P. thwarted an effort by Mr. Schumer to require that the budget measure lower out-of-pocket health care costs for Americans. Two Republicans who are up for re-election this year, Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Dan Sullivan of Alaska, voted with Democrats, but the proposal was still defeated.

Republicans also squelched a move by Senator Ben Ray Lujan, Democrat of New Mexico, to create a fund that would lower grocery costs and reverse cuts to food aid programs that Republicans enacted last year. Ms. Collins and Mr. Sullivan again joined Democrats.

Also defeated by the G.O.P.: a proposal by Senator John Hickenlooper, Democrat of Colorado, to address rising consumer prices brought on by Mr. Trump’s tariffs and the war in Iran; one by Senator Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, to require the budget measure to address rising electricity prices, and another by Mr. Markey to create a fund to bring down housing costs.

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Senator Jon Ossoff, a Democrat who is up for re-election in Georgia, also sought to add language requiring the budget plan to address health insurance companies denying or delaying access to care, but that, too was blocked by Republicans.

While Republicans had fewer proposals for changes to their own budget plan, they also sought to offer measures that would underscore their aggressive stance on immigration enforcement and dare Democrats to vote against them.

Mr. Graham offered an amendment to allocate funds toward a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to the apprehension and deportation of adult immigrants convicted of rape, murder, or sexual abuse of a minor after illegally entering the United States. It passed unanimously.

Senator Josh Hawley, Republican of Missouri, sought to bar Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood, which provides abortion and other services, and criticized the organization for providing transgender care to minors. Senator John Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana, also attempted to tack on the G.O.P. voter identification bill, known as the SAVE America Act. Both proposals were blocked when Democrats, joined by a few Republicans, voted to strike them as unrelated to the budget plan.

The Republicans who crossed party lines to oppose their own party’s proposals for new voting requirements were Ms. Collins along with Senators Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.

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Ms. Collins and Ms. Murkowski also opposed the effort to block payments to Planned Parenthood.

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