carolinas. heavy monsoon downpours from albuquerque to denver and salt lake city. a mild 74 in seattle. 93 in boise. 99 in colorado springs. near 90 in minneapolis, chicago and detroit. dallas hits 107. still way too hot down there. new orleans meanwhile at 94. atlanta 93. 91 here in new york. 89 in boston. i m glad it s cooled off relatively here. nice little break. there s a new kind of rodeo wowing crowds in idaho and there s not a horse, cattle or cowboy in sight. instead, the western states rodeo is all backhoes and hard hats. it s a search for the best heavy equipment operator in the northwest. every participant has to demonstrate their skill in several events including tire stacking and navigating through an obstacle course. that s tricky. the top contenders will compete at the end of the month for a chance to win a heavy-duty pickup truck. i could use one of those. very nice. i hear the swimsuit competition was pretty fun too. so that s good.
extreme downpours in the southwest. also showers in florida, georgia and alabama. thunderstorms from new england down to d.c. 78 in boston. 84 in baltimore. and 91 in miami. dallas hits 107. new orleans 98. 80s from fargo to detroit. 91 in salt lake city. 81 in portland and 88 in albuquerque. it is girl power like you ve never seen before. a teenager with a ponytail who can put most grown men to shame. that s right. meet 16-year-old jessica bead of oklahoma. she is the only girl weightlifter representing the u.s. in the first ever youth olympic games. jessica got into the sport when she was just 9. and now she can lift nearly 220 pounds over her head. whoa. i feel so weak right now. the games begin in singapore in two weeks. jessica said she was nervous at first but now she s ready to see her heavy lifting and hard work pay off. good for her. certainly be rooting for her.