Northeastern U.S. bakes in "extremely oppressive" heat

Residents around the Northeast U.S. braced for potentially record-breaking temperatures Sunday as a nearly weeklong hot spell continued, prompting officials to warn of "dangerous" heat.

At least one heat-related death, in New York, was reported during the stretch of sweltering weather. Around the region, athletic events were shortened or postponed, and cities opened cooling centers and even turned to buses to offer relief from the heat.

From the Pacific Northwest to the southern Great Plains to the heavily populated I-95 corridor, more than 85 million Americans woke up Sunday to excessive heat warnings or heat advisories, the National Weather Service said. Much of the heat was in the Northeast, where the weather service warned of "extremely oppressive" conditions from Washington to Boston.