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Marvin Cox, community outreach director with the Metropolitan Action Commission on June 25, in Nashville. As temperatures reached into the upper 90s, the Metro Action Commission was offering free window AC units to seniors, families with young children and people with medical conditions. Mark Humphrey/AP hide caption

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Mark Humphrey/AP

Public housing buildings can now pay for residents' ACs, providing relief to many

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A bedroom of the Olympic Village in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, photographed in February. The buildings will be cooled with a system of water pipes beneath the floor, rather than air conditioning. Thibault Camus/AP hide caption

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Thibault Camus/AP

People shop for air conditioners during a heat wave last week in New York City. Many people who live in public housing can't afford such units or the utility bills that come with them — and there's no federal requirement for air conditioning. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption

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Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Withering heat is more common, but getting AC is still a struggle in public housing

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A United Parcel Service driver makes a delivery in the back of his truck in Pittsburgh, July 13, 2023. Gene J. Puskar/AP hide caption

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Gene J. Puskar/AP

Delivery drivers want protection against heat. But it's an uphill battle

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