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Millions of Americans across the eastern half of the US are facing a prolonged stretch of dangerous and potentially record-breaking heat as Americans get set to head outdoors to celebrate the country’s 250th Independence Day. (Waxman, 6/29)

Every few minutes, the mortuary owner’s phone rings. Since a record-smashing heat wave started taking lives and storage space for bodies in Paris and beyond, the funeral directors and mourning families calling him mostly have the same question: Do you have room for one more? With all 32 places in his cold room taken, Zouhaeir Hertelli reluctantly has to gently say “Non,” over and over and over again. “We’re facing a really catastrophic situation,” he said. “I’m getting hundreds of calls.” (Leicester and Schaeffer, 6/29)

Mosquitoes collected in the Twin Cities metro area have tested positive for West Nile virus for the first time this year, and experts say more infected mosquitos are likely active in other parts of the state as well. (Bloch, 6/27)

Faced with one of its worst outbreaks of dengue in years, Sri Lanka is using military drones to scan rooftops and find mosquito breeding grounds to eliminate. The island nation is at war with the insect that carries the dengue virus and has infected more than 46,000 people so far this year, nearly double the number for the same period last year, and killed 29. Hospitals are stretched to capacity with more than 500 cases a day. (Waravita, 6/28)

Cases of Powassan virus have hit the news in recent months because of the potentially life-altering, sometimes fatal, symptoms. (Sloan, 6/28)

You’ve likely heard it since childhood: Don’t scratch that bug bite or rash, you’ll make it worse. But why would something that feels so good be bad? A lot of things can cause itchiness, sometimes serious diseases. Whatever the cause, doctors have long warned that scratching too much can damage the skin. Now researchers better understand why even a mildly annoying itch could put you on an itch-and-scratch cycle if you give in. How did they find out? In part by putting tiny “cones of shame” onto mice to uncover what happens on a cellular level when an itch gets scratched — or left alone. (Neergaard, 6/27)

Twenty-five Metro Detroit communities exceeded Michigan’s lead action level for drinking water since 2018, according to state compliance data analyzed by a drinking water engineer and reviewed by Planet Detroit. The communities all receive water treated by the Great Lakes Water Authority, or GLWA. Despite repeated exceedances, regulators have not required the distribution of water filters, something experts say is warranted. (Allnutt, 6/26)

A deal to bring Colorado River water to Native American communities in northern Arizona, where a third of homes lack running water, is being blocked by neighboring states, caught up in a broader battle over how to divide the dwindling river. The largest tribal water rights settlement in U.S. history — the product of decades of negotiations to secure water for the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe and San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe — was on the verge of being realized before Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming stepped in to oppose it being codified by Congress. (Olalde and Hager, 6/29)

Earthquake victims are overwhelming healthcare centers in Venezuela’s coastal state of La Guaira and beyond, pushing an already fragile health system past its limits. Two powerful 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes struck within a minute of each other on Wednesday evening, toppling buildings and severely damaging the country’s main international airport. By Saturday afternoon, authorities reported nearly 3,240 injured people and a death toll approaching 1,430 nationwide. More than 430 aftershocks had occurred by Saturday, head of the National Assembly said in a report. (Itriago and Dahl, 6/27)