This is a web edition of GBH Daily, a weekday newsletter bringing you local stories you can trust so you can stay informed without feeling overwhelmed.

Sign up here!

🌡️Dangerously hot, with highs around 102 and overnight lows around 79. Sunset is at 8:25 p.m.

You already know this: it’s going to be a hot one. And this heat can be dangerous, especially for people who are working, exercising or spending a lot of time outside.

Timothy Boardman, an emergency medicine specialist at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, told GBH’s Marilyn Schairer that he suggests people drink plenty of water throughout the day, try to avoid caffeine and alcohol, wear loose clothing in light colors and take frequent breaks. If you feel woozy or sweat excessively, “that is the first indication that you’re running into trouble” said Boardman. You may need medical help or, at the very least, to somewhere shady, cool or air-conditioned, he said.

If your own home, school, or office is getting too hot, you may want to find a free public space with air conditioning and water. Some cities and towns have opened cooling centers in schools, community centers, or other spaces. Here’s a list of cooling centers in Boston. You can also call 211 to find a cooling center near you.

Our meteorologist, Dave Epstein, often says that on hot days he likes to do his outdoor activities — gardening and dog-walking — early in the morning, before 6 a.m., so he can spend peak heat hours cooling off indoors. My fluffy little dog, Leonard Nimoy, will also be getting an early walk and plenty of extra water today.

Four Things to Know

1. U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, of Salem, said he questions how effective U.S. strikes on Iran were over the weekend in targeting the country’s nuclear program, pointing to mixed messages from the Trump administration itself and saying the president was “outright lying.” He also said he does not believe military strikes are the best way to prevent the Iranian government from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The ceasefire Trump announced yesterday is on shaky ground today, with more people killed since last night.

“We certainly do want to end Iran’s nuclear program,” he said. “The question is: is this the best pathway to do so, not only in the short term but in the long run? And the reason I’ve always been an advocate for diplomacy is because, in the long run, it’s the only way to keep tabs on Iran so that they not only don’t have a program today but they aren’t developing one for tomorrow.” Hear his full conversation with Boston Public Radio’s Jim Braude and Margery Eagan here. 

2. Higher rents and no increase in federal funding mean most local housing authorities in Massachusetts are not taking new applications for Section 8 rental assistance. Agencies will keep supporting the roughly 93,000 households who currently get Section 8 rental help, under which tenants pay about 30% of the rent and federal funds cover the rest.

Sarah Scott, director of leased housing with the organization Metro Boston Housing, told GBH people are trying to find a solution. “The state of Massachusetts is doing everything that they can to preserve vouchers for people that need it while still finding alternatives and funding in other ways,” Scott said. “We don’t know what that looks like right now.”

3. How did your local state representative and senator vote on bills that came through their committees? Every year, thousands of bills get filed in Massachusetts, and the vast majority don’t advance past committees, and never see public explanation or a tally of where legislators stood.

But that might change: House and Senate Democrats in the state have reached an agreement to make committee votes public. Scotia Hille, the executive director of the progressive advocacy group Act on Mass, said it’s “a huge change, a favorable change for transparency right now.”

4. Congratulations to Leominster’s own Mark Daigneault, head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who is celebrating an NBA finals win with a 4-3 series against the Indiana Pacers.

In the stands watching the winning game was Steve Dubzinski, who coached Daigneault at Leominster High School. “I told him I was proud of him. His parents were there, and really, they’ve allowed the entire community of Leominster to be part of this,” Dubzinski told GBH’s Esteban Bustillos.

Duration of physical restraints at state mental hospital raises concerns

State regulations limit how long a person in a mental health hospital can be restrained with something like straps or a vest: staff can use restraints for up to two hours for adults before needing a doctor’s approval for more time.

At the Worcester Recovery Center and Hospital, the largest Department of Mental Health facility in Massachusetts, a lot of restraints came very close to that mark last year: about 75% of restraints lasted for 105 to 120 minutes, according to data released by the Department of Mental Health to John Trask, director of peer support at the hospital. Trask shared the data with GBH News.

Trask said there shouldn’t be a cluster at the two-hour mark because every person is different and calms down at different time intervals. State regulations say a person must be released from a restraint immediately once they are no longer a danger to themselves or others.

“Every minute that someone is secluded or restrained … every one of those minutes is terrifying,” said Caroline Mazel-Carlton, director of learning opportunities at the Wildflower Alliance, a peer support organization. She told GBH News she’s been restrained herself and described it as traumatizing.

People who work in mental health hospitals might use restraints for a long period of time because they don’t have proper training, are dealing with staffing shortages, or small spaces crowded with patients, Mazel-Carlton said.

Nursing supervisor George Njoroge said the hospital’s staff members always release patients once they’re no longer a danger to themselves or to others, and that sometimes delays come from waiting for doctors or waiting for medications from the pharmacy.

He said he sees how restraints can be traumatizing, but said they are sometimes necessary for patients who get aggressive.

“I’ve never seen a person who is restrained unnecessarily,’’ he said.

Trask said he does not believe staff members have any ill will, but said it can be a difficult environment to work in. He filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s office in April and has been on leave since January, he said, in part because of the stress that comes from talking to patients after they’ve been restrained.

“It substantially impacts civil rights,’’ Trask said. “You don’t tie somebody up any longer than necessary to maintain safety.”

Read Alexi Cohan’s full reporting here.