<div class='node-body'><p>After a record heat wave accompanied by deadly thunderstorms hit the mid-Atlantic over the weekend, more than three million people are still without power across the region, <em>Reuters</em> <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/01/us-usa-weather-storm-idUSBRE85T02U20120701" target="_blank">reports</a>.</p>
<p>Emergencies were declared in Washington D.C., Maryland, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia on Saturday due to the damage of the overnight storms, which unleashed hurricane-force winds across and a 500-mile (800-km) stretch along the east coast.</p></div><div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-news-hp-image">
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<p><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/07/01-2" target="_blank">read more</a></p>