 and 3.8% compared to a year earlier. People shopped more online, bought building and gardening materials. Grocery spending was flat. Alina Seluch, NPR News, Washington. It's not just the U.S. suffering under extreme heat this week. Extreme heat's also sweeping southern Europe. A dozen cities in Italy are under severe heat warnings, with temperatures continuing to hover around triple digits, Fahrenheit. In North Macedonia, the extremely hot weather's fueling hundreds of wildfires.