only made minimum meanwhile, with low unoyment and growth, the fed staff norees with many business leaders and country may avoid a recession after all. lester. all right, tom, thank you. we ll turn now to the unrelenting heat impacting tens of millions across the country. heat alerts now up from california to maine and threatening americans lives and livelihoods. here s maggie vespa. reporter: tonight, a record-smashing summer of extremes coast to coast as that triple-digit heat wave statisticaling the south for nearly a month spreads into the upper midwest and east coast. i am walking into a sauna. reporter: 125 million americans under heat alerts from phoenix to minneapolis to d.c. where the heat indedex is set t to top ouout around 1 106 degrees. tens of millions also dealing with violent storms. a microburst blowing through brooklyn tuesday clocking winds up to 70 miles an hour. in the roasting