Record-breaking heat wave scorches Southeast US

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Residents in the Southeast U.S. are no strangers to heat in the summertime. But this week's sweltering hot weather set at least one record and has forecasters urging residents to limit time outside on Tuesday if possible — and stay hydrated.

The all-time high temperature at Tampa International Airport was broken on Sunday when the thermometer hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius). The previous record had been 99 F (37.2 C) in June 2020.

The National Weather Service said Tuesday the prolonged heat is expected to peak in the Southeast at midweek. A strong upper ridge also was generating a “dangerous and prolonged” heat wave in the central and eastern sections of the country. An extreme heat warning was in effect through Wednesday night in New Jersey counties outside New York City, and the mercury hit an unseemly 97 F (36 C) in Manhattan.

In Savannah, Georgia, landscaper Darius Cowherd took a break Tuesday in the cab of his work truck after spending the morning mowing grass, trimming bushes and blowing leaves in Forsyth Park in the coastal city’s downtown historic district.

Sipping from a giant water bottle almost the size of a gallon jug, he said, “I filled it with ice at 7 this morning and it’s all melted by 10:30.”

A canopy of live oak trees in much of the park provided little relief.

“It’s hot even when you’re working in the shade,” said Cowherd, who wore a wide-brimmed hat to shield his face and neck.

The National Weather Service predicted temperatures in Savannah would reach 97 F (36 C) Tuesday, with heat index values — what the temperature feels like — approaching a broiling 110 F (43 C).

The heat wave was expected to set records across Florida on Tuesday, with highs around 100 F. Heat index values in the Tampa Bay area were expected to range from 113 to 118 F (45 to 47.7 C).

“We have extreme heat warnings in Georgia, down through northern Florida that would also include places like the Tampa Bay and Orlando metro areas,” said Peter Mullinax, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service. “We're going to see today more opportunities for temperatures to be near 100 again.”

However, rain is in the forecast for Wednesday, which will likely cool things off a bit.

Extreme heat warnings also were issued in the country's center from New Orleans up to St. Louis, the meteorologist said. The heat index value on Tuesday was expected to reach as high as 110 F around the St. Louis area and in southwest Illinois.

In downtown Savannah, scattered tourists trudged along the sidewalks despite the heat. A few carried umbrellas to keep the sun at bay.

A block away, Luis Hernandez was working in direct sun on a ladder painting second-floor windows on a 19th century home. He wore long sleeves to protect against sunburn.

Hernandez said a co-worker made sure he and his fellow house painters had a cooler filled with drinking water. About every two hours, they would go inside to take breaks in the air-conditioning.

“Sure, it’s hot,” Hernandez said — almost “too much.”

With temperatures climbing Tuesday afternoon in Tallahassee, Willie Gaines and his workers took a break from painting white traffic lines on a newly paved road near the All Saints neighborhood. As they sat in the shade of tree, heat radiated off the blacktop. The air was thick with the fumes of fresh asphalt.

“Everybody’s complaining they ain’t never seen it this hot,” Gaines said.

Associated Press journalists Kate Payne in Tallahassee, Florida, and Mike Hempen in College Park, Maryland, contributed to this report.

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A farmer harvests seed corn in temperatures over 100 degree heat, (37 C) Tuesday, July 29, 2025 near Albany, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Cattle cool off from the summer heat in a marsh along the St. Johns River, Tuesday, July 29, 2025, in Brevard County, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Tennessee Titans linebacker Arden Key uses a wet towel to cool off after practice at the team's NFL football training camp, Tuesday, July 29, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Children play in the water to avoid the heat at the Titusville Splash Pad, Tuesday, July 29, 2025, in Titusville, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

A bicyclist passes power lines near downtown Dallas, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Luis Hernandez paints a second-floor window on a home in Savannah, Ga., Tuesday, July 29, 2025, as people across the southeastern U.S. dealt with extreme summer heat. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum)

A farmer walks along his rows of seed corn during harvest in temperatures over 100 degree heat, (37 C) Tuesday, July 29, 2025 near Albany, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Darius Cowherd takes a break from his city landscaping job in Savannah, Ga., Tuesday, July 29, 2025, as people across the South dealt with extreme summer heat. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum)

Tennessee Titans linebacker Arden Key uses a wet towel to cool off after practice at the team's NFL football training camp Tuesday, July 29, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

A federal appeals panel on Thursday reversed a lower court decision that released former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil from an immigration jail, bringing the government one step closer to detaining and ultimately deporting the Palestinian activist.

The three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals didn’t decide the key issue in Khalil’s case: whether the Trump administration’s effort to throw Khalil out of the U.S. over his campus activism and criticism of Israel is unconstitutional.

But in its 2-1 decision, the panel ruled a federal judge in New Jersey didn’t have jurisdiction to decide the matter at this time. Federal law requires the case to fully move through the immigration courts first, before Khalil can challenge the decision, they wrote.

“That scheme ensures that petitioners get just one bite at the apple — not zero or two,” the panel wrote. “But it also means that some petitioners, like Khalil, will have to wait to seek relief for allegedly unlawful government conduct.”

The law bars Khalil “from attacking his detention and removal in a habeas petition,” the panel added.

It was not clear whether the government would seek to detain Khalil, a legal permanent resident, again while his legal challenges continue.

Thursday’s decision marked a major win for the Trump administration’s sweeping campaign to detain and deport noncitizens who joined protests against Israel.

In a statement distributed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Khalil said the appeals ruling was “deeply disappointing, but it does not break our resolve.”

He added: “The door may have been opened for potential re-detainment down the line, but it has not closed our commitment to Palestine and to justice and accountability. I will continue to fight, through every legal avenue and with every ounce of determination, until my rights, and the rights of others like me, are fully protected.”

Baher Azmy, one of Khalil's lawyers, said the ruling was “contrary to rulings of other federal courts.” He noted the panel’s finding concerned a “hypertechnical jurisdictional matter,” rather than the legality of the Trump administration’s policy.

“Our legal options are by no means concluded, and we will fight with every available avenue,” he added, saying Khalil would remain free pending the full resolution of all appeals, which could take months or longer.

The ACLU said the Trump administration cannot lawfully re-detain Khalil until the order takes formal effect, which won't happen while he can still immediately appeal.

Khalil's lawyers can request the active judges on the 3rd Circuit hear an appeal, or they can go to the U.S. Supreme Court.

An outspoken leader of the pro-Palestinian movement at Columbia, Khalil was arrested on March 8, 2025. He then spent three months detained in a Louisiana immigration jail, missing the birth of his firstborn.

Federal officials have accused Khalil of leading activities “aligned to Hamas,” though they have not presented evidence to support the claim and have not accused him of criminal conduct. They have also accused Khalil, 30, of failing to disclose information on his green card application.

The government has justified the arrest under a seldom-used statute that allows for the expulsion of noncitizens whose beliefs are deemed to pose a threat to U.S. foreign policy interests.

In June, a federal judge in New Jersey ruled that justification would likely be declared unconstitutional and ordered Khalil released.

President Donald Trump's administration appealed that ruling, arguing the deportation decision should fall to an immigration judge, rather than a federal court.

Khalil has dismissed the allegations as “baseless and ridiculous,” framing his arrest and detention as a “direct consequence of exercising my right to free speech as I advocated for a free Palestine and an end to the genocide in Gaza.”

Judge Arianna Freeman dissented Thursday, writing that her colleagues were holding Khalil to the wrong legal standard. Khalil, she wrote, is raising “now-or-never claims” that can be handled at the district court level. He does not have a final order of removal, which would permit a challenge in an appellate court, she wrote.

Both judges who ruled against Khalil, Thomas Hardiman and Stephanos Bibas, were Republican appointees. President George W. Bush appointed Hardiman to the 3rd Circuit, while Trump appointed Bibas. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, appointed Freeman.

The majority opinion noted Freeman worried the ruling would leave Khalil with no remedy for unconstitutional immigration detention, even if he later can appeal.

“But our legal system routinely forces petitioners — even those with meritorious claims — to wait to raise their arguments, the judges wrote. “To be sure, the immigration judge’s order of removal is not yet final; the Board has not affirmed her ruling and has held the parties’ briefing deadlines in abeyance pending this opinion. But if the Board ultimately affirms, Khalil can get meaningful review.”

The decision comes as an appeals board in the immigration court system weighs a previous order that found Khalil could be deported. His attorneys have argued that the federal order should take precedence.

That judge has suggested Khalil could be deported to Algeria, where he maintains citizenship through a distant relative, or Syria, where he was born in a refugee camp to a Palestinian family.

His attorneys have said he faces mortal danger if forced to return to either country.

Associated Press Writer Larry Neumeister contributed to this story.

FILE - Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil holds a news conference outside Federal Court on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025 in Philadelphia (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)