More heat Wave Deaths

The heat wave that scorched California a year ago may have contributed to hundreds more deaths than the state has officially reported. As recently as last month, state officials reported that the two-week ordeal of triple digit temperatures that began on July 14, 2006, killed 143 people. Statistics compiled by the Associated Press from each of California's 58 counties show the number of deaths last July was 466 higher than the average over the previous six years. This is a spike many health officials attribute to the broiling heat.