A dangerous heat wave has descended on much of California and the U.S. Southwest, with triple-digit temperatures expected along with a higher risk of wildfires.

The first of 97 runners are starting to hit the finish line after pushing off in desolate Death Valley for an annual ultramarathon billed as the world’s toughest foot race.

Crews worked to dig roads, buildings and care home residents out of the mud across a wide swath of Southwestern U.S. desert Monday, after a tropical storm to hit Southern California.

A historic heat wave that has blasted the U.S. Southwest throughout July is showing signs of abating with late-arriving monsoon rains.

Blistering triple-digit temperatures across Texas this week have the state rivaling the hottest locations on the planet, including the Sahara Desert and parts of the Persian Gulf.

An elderly Las Vegas couple were found dead in California's Death Valley National Park in what authorities said Wednesday was a murder-suicide.

Authorities say a main roadway into Death Valley National Park will remain closed into next week as crews clean up after record-breaking rains damaged the roadway and choked it with mud, rocks and debris.

On Friday, Death Valley, California, hit 130 degrees.