[ Not to belabor 'old news', but in a way it's new since it keeps getting worse! ]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57464686/mid-atlantic-languishes-in-stifling-heat-after-storms-kill-22-cripple-utilities/

Power lines are still down July 1, 2012 in Huntingtown, Md., after a massive storm that swept through the region Friday night. Although Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) is working on repairing systems in southern Maryland, there are still almost a million people in the greater Washington, D.C. area without power.

(CBS/AP) A weekend without electricity was trying enough for millions in the sweltering, storm-swept mid-Atlantic region. Power outages had already left many to contend with stifling homes and spoiled food as temperatures approached or exceeded 100 degrees - and utility officials said that the power will likely be out for several more days.

As of Monday morning, around 2 million customers from North Carolina to New Jersey and as far west as Illinois remained without power.

Since Friday, severe weather has been blamed for at least 22 deaths, most from trees falling on homes and cars.

But Monday brought another grim challenge, when many embark on a difficult commute over roads with darkened stoplights and likely mass-transit delays.