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this is the "cbs evening news" with norah o'donnell, reporting from the nation's capital. >> o'donnell: good evening, to our viewers in the west and thank you for joining us. we're going to begin tonight with breaking news. record-breaking news for millions of americans now enduring the season's first heat wave. from maine to new mexico the u.s. is seeing historic high temperatures sweltering in dangerous hot air that's arrived earlier than usual catching many off guard, major cities from boston to washington d.c. are declaring weather emergencies closing schools and opening cool centers just as the country was getting back on its feet from the pandemic. and as we come on the air more than half the u.s. is experiencing this above average heat which tonight is spawning severe storms and flash flooding in the south. and, fueling wildfires in the west leading to red flag warnings and evacuations. cbs' lonnie quinn is standing by to tell us just how long this is going to last but first cbs' mola lenghi will lead off our coverage from boston. good evening, mola.