Record smashing heatwave surges from West to eastern US, Canada

WASHINGTON - A record-smashing heat wave was spreading on July 14 from the Mountain West toward the eastern United States and Canada, placing more than 100 million people under heat alerts.Hot and dry conditions also contributed to fierce wildfires in south-western Ontario and northern Minnesota, with air quality expected to worsen over the midwestern and north-eastern United States in the coming days.The phenomenon known as a heat dome has already shattered all-time temperature records in western states, including 44 deg C in Billings, Montana, where the previous record was 42 deg C, and 427.7 deg C in Salt Lake City, where the previous one was 41.6 deg C.Extreme heat and humidity persist in the Mountain West but are now spilling over to the densely populated East Coast, which also faced