Beating the heat. Malee, a 3-month-old Asian elephant, cools off in her wading pool at the Oklahoma City Zoo in Oklahoma City on Monday. Much of the nation is in the grip of a broiling heat wave. The misery was widespread Monday, with the worst conditions blanketing a broad band from Texas to Minnesota and the Dakotas. Seventeen states issued heat watches, warnings or advisories. The heat index easily surpassed 100 degrees in many places: 126 in Newton, Iowa; 120 in Mitchell, S.D.; and 119 in Madison, Minn. See more weather photos at www.spokesman.com/picture-stories (Associated Press)
