PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The eastern U.S. sweated through a second day of early-season heat Wednesday, with some schoolchildren being sent home while others stayed in sweltering classrooms.
Philadelphia shifted to remote learning for students at 57 schools, saying that while the district has made progress, a number of them continue to have inadequate air conditioning.
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People lay out in the sun in front of the New York City skyline in Hoboken, N.J., Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
People lay out in the sun in front of the New York City skyline in Hoboken, N.J., Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Riley enjoys playing with a water house at a dog park in Hoboken, N.J., Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
People lay out in the sun in front of the New York City skyline in Hoboken, N.J., Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
People lay out in the sun in front of the New York City skyline, in Hoboken, N.J., Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A person uses a fan as they wait in line to purchase Broadway tickets in Times Square, during a heat advisory in New York, Tuesday, May 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A person uses an umbrella to shield themselves from the sun during a heat advisory in Central Park, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
The heat sneaked up on some Philadelphia residents and had them concerned about electricity bills before summer has even set in, said Lauren Authur, who lives in the city.
“Today has been like a heatwave,” Authur said, “and when you have little children, you use more of your air conditioning than anything to try to prevent them from being sick.”
“It honestly got hot sooner than we expected it to be,” she said.
The National Weather Service said another day of record heat was expected from the mid-Atlantic to New England before a cold front brings rain later in the week. Daily high temperature records were broken Tuesday in Portland, Maine, at 92 degrees Fahrenheit (33 degrees Celsius), and in Boston at 96 (35.5 Celsius).
Temperatures were expected to plunge as low as 45 Fahrenheit (7 Celsius) in Portland and 50 (10 Celsius) in Boston as soon as Thursday.
In Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood, officials at one high school set up fans, passed around bottled water and allowed students to wear shorts and T-shirts instead of their usual uniforms.
“The heat outside feels like it’s manageable because of the wind but inside it feels just tight and burdening because we also have to go through quizzes, exams, there is no excuse,” student Ariolainy Baez told CBS News.
A heat advisory was in effect for portions of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island through Wednesday evening.
In Maine, temperatures soared again Wednesday for Portland, and the small town of Fryeburg also sizzled a day after setting its own local heat record. Authorities advised people to use caution when outside.
“Our bodies are not adapted to the heat yet. On the first hot days of the year, it’s especially important to take breaks in the shade or A/C and drink plenty of water,” the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement.
Some people coped by flocking to beaches that were not yet besieged by summer tourists. Others turned front lawn sprinklers into makeshift water parks for their children and neighbors.
In New York City, officials opened cooling centers.
“Just as New Yorkers look out for one another through the coldest days of winter, we must do the same through the hottest days of the year,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.
Whittle reported from Scarborough, Maine. Associated Press writer Holly Ramer contributed from Concord, New Hampshire.
People lay out in the sun in front of the New York City skyline in Hoboken, N.J., Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
People lay out in the sun in front of the New York City skyline in Hoboken, N.J., Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Riley enjoys playing with a water house at a dog park in Hoboken, N.J., Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
People lay out in the sun in front of the New York City skyline in Hoboken, N.J., Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
People lay out in the sun in front of the New York City skyline, in Hoboken, N.J., Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A person uses a fan as they wait in line to purchase Broadway tickets in Times Square, during a heat advisory in New York, Tuesday, May 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A person uses an umbrella to shield themselves from the sun during a heat advisory in Central Park, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
MADRID (AP) — More than a million people poured into a central Madrid plaza on Sunday for Pope Leo XIV ’s main Mass and a procession highlighting one of the most iconic expressions of Spanish popular piety: flower carpets.
They cheered and shouted “This is the youth of the pope!” as Leo arrived for the Mass, looping around the plaza and surrounding streets in his popemobile to a crowd packed several rows deep behind barricades.
Sunday’s Mass falls on the Catholic Corpus Domini feast day, which often features processions of faithful through towns and cities led by a priest carrying the Eucharist. In Spain as in other predominantly Catholic countries, the processions often feature elaborate floral carpets arranged along the route.
Leo, who arrived in Spain on Saturday at the start of his weeklong visit, has been keen to highlight the long tradition of Catholic devotion here to encourage especially young generations to find their faith.
At a vigil service Saturday night, an estimated 600,000 young Spaniards knelt for several minutes in silent prayer alongside Leo, suggesting that there is indeed interest among young people despite Spain’s heavily secularized society.
“Let me take the opportunity to tell all of you: Don't ever be afraid of thinking about a vocation to the priesthood or religious life, or other services in the church!” Leo told the crowd.
Irati Valda and Javier Hormazal, a young couple, held up a cardboard sign announcing they are going to get married on June 13 and were ushered up close to receive Leo's blessing during the vigil.
“To see so many young people together, it's incredible. Half a million people in silence, this is something you will only live once," Valda said.
For Sunday's Mass and procession, local organizers said 1.2 million people had turned out on a brilliant spring morning at the central Plaza Cibeles and surrounding streets, with more trying to get in.
The tradition of laying flower carpets — and destroying them when the procession tramples them — dates back two centuries and is popular also in Latin America, where elaborate sand designs are also made. The painstaking displays are considered an offering to the Eucharist.
Poland has already had its tradition of Corpus Domini flower carpets recognized by UNESCO, and Spain's Galicia region is trying to have its tradition listed along with other countries as part of the world’s intangible cultural heritage.
According to Spanish organizers, the 16 flower carpets decorating the half-kilometer (mile) procession route were prepared by a Spanish florists association from Galicia. Florists used more than 30,000 flowers, most the yellow and white colors of the Holy See flag, for the carpets that feature decorations such as the Holy See keys.
Wildly popular religious processions, pilgrimages and feasts continue to be held in most Spanish regions. The most recognizable are Holy Week processions during the final week of Lent where brotherhoods and robed penitents parade ornate statues of Christ and the Virgin Mary through cities, towns and villages alongside marching bands. Such processions draw the faithful as well as droves of non-believers and tourists.
Spanish towns and cities also regularly honor local patron saints with fiestas. Religious pilgrimages to local shrines mix piety with communal festivities and music. In Andalusia, the El Rocío pilgrimage fetches a million people that make a long, dusty journey over the Pentecost weekend on horseback and decorated covered wagons to venerate an icon of the Virgin Mary.
Leo arrived in Spain on Saturday and urged its people to put an end to polarization and work for unity. Later Sunday he is to meet privately with members of his Augustinian religious order and address cultural leaders.
AP visual journalist Helena Alves contributed.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Pope Leo XIV arrives in the popemobile at Plaza de Lima in Madrid, Saturday, June 6, 2026, for a prayer vigil with young people on the first day of a seven-day apostolic journey to mainland Spain and the Canary Islands. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Pope Leo XIV is welcomed by Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, as he arrives at the Royal Palace in Madrid, Saturday, June 6, 2026, on the first day of his seven-day apostolic journey to mainland Spain and the Canary Islands. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
People wait for the arrival of Pope Leo XIV ahead of a Holy Mass and Corpus Christi procession at Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, June 7, 2026, on the second day of his seven-day apostolic visit to mainland Spain and the Canary Islands. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
People wait for the arrival of Pope Leo XIV ahead of a Holy Mass and Corpus Christi procession at Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, June 7, 2026, on the second day of his seven-day apostolic visit to mainland Spain and the Canary Islands. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
People wait for the arrival of Pope Leo XIV ahead of a Holy Mass and Corpus Christi procession at Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, June 7, 2026, on the second day of his seven-day apostolic visit to mainland Spain and the Canary Islands. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
