Northeast United States prepares for heat wave, Gulf still at risk, we're talkintravel.

As if the 98 degree temps that hit the northern eastern coast of the United States over the Fourth of July isn't enough, wait until Tuesday when triple digits will be the norm.  According to the latest from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), this week the highs will exceed the hundred degree mark in much of the east coast.  Their latest update has a hazardous weather outlook in the Albany, NY area with little relief at night fall.

In the Gulf, Hurricane Alex is still hampering clean up efforts.  According to the latest from Associated Press, efforts to clean up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill gathered steam Monday after Hurricane Alex prompted a five-day shutdown, amid new questions over how BP would pay for the mounting costs, estimated to top $3 billion dollars.

Clean-up workers arrived back on Grand Isle, Louisiana by the hundreds, spilling off school buses that shuttled them in from around the state.  In the wake of Hurricane Alex, beaches, shorelines and marshes lay smeared with thick patches of oil and the sky was still filled with ominous, gray clouds.  "This is definitely the most oil I've seen. So far," said one worker who declined to give his name.

Skimming operations resumed in Louisiana but rough seas kept vessels tied up in harbor in three other southeastern U.S. states and no controlled burns were being carried out.  But officials said other operations to fend off the spill, including laying protective boom, were back on track.

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