Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times Lucifer will get his weather back eventually, but probably not till Sunday, forecasters say.Updated, 12:21 p.m. | As you sit â€" sweating and sweltering â€" here's one thing to be grateful for: it's not 1953.
On this day in 1953, it was 100 degrees, a record.
On Wednesday, it will be several degrees shy of that â€" about 93. An air-quality health advisory for high ozone levels was issued around 11 a.m. for New York City and Long Island, so take it easy.
Blame the high pressure system hovering over our heads as it wends its way back west whence it came.
By the weekend, you can expect some relief. High temperatures will drop to the mid-80s. (In the meantime, New Jersey Transit is keeping its air-conditioned waiting rooms open late.)
Here's what else you need to know to start your Wednesday.
AMBER ALERT
This morning at 3:51 a.m., many of you were jolted awake by a blaring sound on your phone.
It was an Amber Alert, issued for a 7-month-old abducted by his mentally unstable mother from a child-welfare building in Harlem on Tuesday afternoon, the authorities said.
The call went out as a Wireless Emergency Alert, something that millions of smartphones receive automatically.
Usually in New York City, such alerts are used for high-level warnings like evacuation orders, but federal authorities can order them for Amber Alerts. Click for full article.
TRANSIT & TRAFFIC
- Mass Transit: Click for the latest M.T.A. status. No A train between Euclid Avenue and Howard Beach until 3 p.m.
- Roads:Alternate-side parking rules in effect.
COMING UP TODAY
- Mayoral candidates, including William C. Thompson Jr., Bill de Blasio and Anthony D. Weiner, take part in a forum about agriculture and nutrition at the New School tonight.
- Heirloom tomatoes at dusk! A night greenmarket â€" 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. - opens at Union Square.
- “The Lorax†is in the Bronx and “Pee-Wee's Big Adventure†goes down in Brooklyn. There are free movies in city parks in at least four boroughs on Wednesday night.
- Bands rock out to raise money for Wounded Warriors in Midtown and the warriors themselves will be in Farmingdale, N.Y., at the Marriott. They will be kicking off Soldier Ride, a bicycling tour that begins on Friday and helps veterans cope with injury.
- Ask a stranger anything you want on stage at “Ask Roulette,†at Housing Works in Manhattan. According to an organizer: “It's weird, it's fun.â€
- It's “New York Surf Week.†Watch a bunch of surfers do their stuff on Long Beach.
- For more events, see The New York Times's Arts & Entertainment guide.
IN THE NEWS
- People buying health insurance on their own in New York will see their premiums drop. [New York Times]
- A lost dog stopped traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge. [CBS News New York]
- Broken air-conditioners have led some Brooklyn libraries, which double as cooling centers, to be closed. [Daily News]
- An 18-year-old ran out onto Citi Field during the All-Star Game after a Twitter dare.
 [Daily News]
- At the game itself, the American League defeated the National League, 3-0, and Mariano Rivera of the Yankees was the most valuable player. [New York Times]
- Christine C. Quinn was irked by the wait for an ambulance after a City Council intern fainted at a news conference. [New York Times]
- A group of deaf people is suing Starbucks, charging discrimination. [Gothamist]
AND FINALLY…
It is the time of year when cute little baby mockingbirds start to learn to fly. And their parents, apparently, go ballistic on humans who get anywhere near the nest. A park in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, has seen a spate of mockingbird attacks.
Michaelle Bond contributed reporting.
We're testing New York Today, which we put together just before dawn and update until noon.
What information would you like to see here when you wake up to help you plan your day? Tell us in the comments, send suggestions to anewman@nytimes.com or tweet them at @nytmetro using #NYToday. Thanks!
