Morning Express with Robin Meade

At this point, Mid Westerners would gladly sit through a triple showing of "The Smurfs" just to spend more time in the icy-cold movie theater air conditioning. I don’t blame them, either.

Here’s the deal with the heat: It is sliding east, so some Western states are seeing the warnings expire, but some Eastern states are seeing the warnings and watches appear for them. Counties from New England down to the Carolinas have been added to the heat watches for Thursday and Friday. I’ll have that on the show, but for now, you can check for your region on the map:

Michael Vick, the guy who spent a year and half in jail on dogfighting charges, went to Congress yesterday to support tougher anti-dogfighting legislation. Vick's really trying to change his image. He wants to penalize people who attend animal fights or who bring minors to animal fights. He doesn't want kids to get involved in the same culture of violence that he witnessed growing up. The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback has teamed up with the President of the Humane Society to help kids before they go down the wrong path… It is illegal in 49 states to be a spectator at an animal fight, in 28 of those states it's a felony. Vick wants people attending an animal fight to get a year in prison, and 3 years if you bring a minor.

In light of the tragic fan accident on july 7th, the Texas Rangers are taking strides to make their ballpark safer for all guests. The team announced that for all rails in the front of seating sections, the height will be increased to 42 inches. Currently the front row rails are 30 or 34 inches in a majority of the seating sections, which actually exceed local codes. New warning signs will also be posted.

Twenty-one days straight of 100F or more in Tyler, TX. Make it 22 for today, unfortunately. The screaming hot readings will mix with the high humidity to make it feel like 110-115 from the Mid MS Valley to the Upper MW today, with warnings for more regions starting this afternoon. Check out the map, with more than 25% of the CONUS under an excessive heat warning, advisory, or watch. The sprawling high-pressure center is drifting to the East a touch now, and the Western flank is being whittled down by some storms, but the heart of the heat is still intact. I’ll have the forecasted highs on the show.

NWS Heat Map

Check out how one tough little pup took on an armed robber and WON!

Paco the Chihuahua was in his owner's smoke shop in Altadena, CA when two men burst in and robbed the place. But Paco, a rescue dog, wasn't about to let the bad guys get away without a fight! He nipped at their ankles and then chased them across the street!

Team USA is back home!! About 24 hours after the women were beaten by Japan in the World Cup Final, they arrived in Manhattan, where hundreds of fans greeted them like the heroes they are. Goalie Hope Solo and scoring machine Abby Wambach will be on the "Late Show With David Letterman" tonight. By the way, more than 13 million Americans watched that Finals match between Team USA and Japan, that's a much higher TV rating than recent events like Baseball's All-Star Game and Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

The heat wave is affecting everyone, including professional athletes. Imagine standing on a mound in long pants for 2 hours having to throw as hard as you can!! It's not a good week to be a pitcher. It was 91 degrees, with a heat index of 103, at the beginning of the game between the Cubs and Phillies in Chicago, and it got hotter as the game went on. Phillies right-hander Roy Halladay did not look like he was having a good time in the heat he left in the fifth inning Monday at Wrigley Field. It was his shortest pitching stint in more than 2 years. After he hit the clubhouse, the Phillies admitted that Halladay was dealing with issues from the unbearable heat.

Tropical storm Gert is dying quickly over the Atlantic Ocean this morning. Interesting note – this is the first time since they’ve given proper names to storms (early 1950s) that a hurricane season has reached the ‘G’ name without a hurricane. So far they have all been tropical storms!

It has been wet though baby. The NE has had a too of rain in the last few days, with anywhere between 6-11” falling over the NYC area. More rain is falling around the entire NE this morning, but like Tyson it has lost a lot of punch. I still wouldn’t want to get popped by him though.