By Donna Leinwand, USA TODAY  A fourth day of record-breaking temperatures blanketing the East Coast overtaxed power grids, sent Naval Academy plebes to the hospital and just made folks miserable from  The triple-digit heat shattered records for the date in New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Raleigh and Hartford, Conn., the National Weather Service said. The temperature in Richmond, Va., hit 103, breaking a 1977 record for July 7.  National Weather Service lead forecaster Bob Oravec says temperatures today won't break any records. "It's still going to be hot, but in the 90s," he said. "More of an average hot day."  In Baltimore on Wednesday, the mercury hit 101, breaking a record of 99 degrees set in 1993.  The heat throughout Maryland made life unfit for man or beast. Ralston Whittingham, 55, of Salisbury, Md., had to carry his dog, Norma, a Lhasa apso, and cool her off in a fountain during their morning stroll through a city park. "Three times I've had to lift her and carry her," he said.  The U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., sent four freshmen with signs of heat exhaustion to the hospital after training on an endurance course.  In Middletown, Conn., police charged two assistant football coaches at the high school with reckless endangerment after a student collapsed while sprinting up a hill several times in 93-degree heat Tuesday evening, police said in a news release.  In New York City, where the temperature hit 100, residents maxed out the power grid. Power company Con Edison broke its 2010 record for peak electricity use at 5 p.m. Tuesday, delivering 12,963 megawatts of power to sweltering New Yorkers.  The intense heat and high power demand caused an electrical fire in Washington, destroying several hundred feet of cable that delivers power to parts of the city. Crews underground, where temperatures reached 150 degrees Wednesday, rebuilt nearly four blocks of cable, Pepco Region President Thomas Graham said.  Meanwhile, cities opened cooling centers and instructed residents to seek relief in air-conditioned libraries, community centers and malls.  The Associated Press reported three heat-related deaths over the past week — in Philadelphia, Baltimore and suburban Detroit.  Newark Mayor Cory Booker urged "small acts of kindness" in a Twitter post. "Visit a senior, bring cold drinks or food" to people without transportation, he wrote.  You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference.
Across the East Coast and beyond Wednesday, people felt the effects of one of the worst heat waves in memory.