Philadelphia

Heat causes misery across Midwest, East

As a large swath of the United States suffered through another miserably hot day, several western states and parts of the Midwest began to feel the relief of a cold front pushing out what had been days of triple-digit temperatures.

At least four deaths have been blamed on the heat in Missouri, including a woman found Sunday in a home without air conditioning. Two young children left in hot cars died in Oklahoma. A 29-year-old hiker died Monday in Kentucky. And a 48-year-old woman was found dead Tuesday in her non-air-conditioned apartment in Cincinnati.

But for the East, the cooler temperatures weren’t expected to arrive until Thursday. High temperatures in Philadelphia had so many homeowners cranking up their air conditioners that their power grid set a record.

Already the heat has been blamed for deaths across the country, including 28 in the Phoenix area alone, most of them homeless people.

Oppressive heat also posed health risks for animals. Heat is being blamed for at least 1,200 cattle deaths in Nebraska.

Salt Lake City

Kidnapping suspect found incompetent

The man charged in the kidnapping of Utah teenager Elizabeth Smart was declared mentally incompetent to stand trial Tuesday.

The decision by Judge Judith Atherton will send Brian David Mitchell to a state hospital until he is deemed capable of standing trial.

The judge issued her decision after six days of hearings over the past seven months. Mitchell repeatedly shouted Biblical admonitions and sang hymns during the hearings, prompting him to be removed from court several times.

In her decision, the judge noted that testimony showed Mitchell’s family had a history of mental disorder. Mitchell was the third of six children and a “loner” in a “highly dysfunctional” family, the judge wrote.

Mitchell, 51, is accused of kidnapping then 14-year-old Elizabeth from her bedroom in 2002, sexually assaulting her and keeping her as his second wife.

Minnesota

Judge finds teenage school shooter sane

A teenager convicted of murder in the deaths of two classmates was not insane at the time of the shootings and will go to prison instead of a mental hospital, a judge has ruled.

The judge said it was clear John Jason McLaughlin suffered “some sort of mental impairment.” But Judge Michael Kirk added that “numerous facts laid out in this case point to the defendant knowing his actions were morally wrong.”

The judge convicted McLaughlin, now 17, of first-degree murder in the death of Seth Bartell, 14, and second-degree murder in the slaying of Aaron Rollins, 17. The two were killed in 2003 at Rocori High School in Cold Spring.

The first-degree murder conviction means a mandatory sentence of life in prison, with parole possible after 30 years. Sentencing was scheduled for Aug. 30.