TRACEY TULLY and JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN / NEW YORK TIMES – The death toll in New Jersey from a days-long heat wave that gripped much of the East Coast during the Fourth of July weekend may be as high as 29, the state’s Department of Health said on Monday.

Those who died ranged in age from their mid-30s to their 80s, and most of the deaths occurred in New Jersey’s densely populated central and northern regions, where temperatures exceeded 100 degrees for days and remained exceptionally warm even after the sun set, state officials said …