2 accidents raise U.S. Storm, blackout toll to 26

An example of damage from last weekend's storms - a Toyota Corolla crushed by a downed tree in Harrisonburg, Va., July 2, 2012. (AP/The Daily News-Record, Michael Reilly)

BLUEMONT, Va. (AP) - The Mid-Atlantic region is struggling to get back to normal after deadly, power-cutting storms.

And the death toll blamed on storms and the ensuing blackout across the eastern U.S. is now at 26 after two accidents in Virginia.

Pepco says it has restored power to 90 percent of those affected by last week's storms in D.C. and two Maryland suburbs, beating its own estimate for getting the lights and more importantly, the air conditioning back on. BGE says about 78,000 customers in central Maryland remained without power.

About 177,000 Virginia homes and businesses remain without power after last weekend's storms, down from a peak of about 1.2 million.

In New Jersey, Atlantic City Electric says nearly 31,000 homes and businesses were still without service. That's down from about 206,000.

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