Heat Wave Blamed for 28 Deaths Nationwide

ST. LOUIS — National Guard troops stepped up their search for people in hot homes without power to run air conditioning Friday as heavy rains and tree-toppling winds added to the misery of the worst power outage in the city's history. "We have 55 percent of the residents without power. Our biggest fear is that the number will go up," said Jeff Rainford, spokesman for Mayor Francis Slay. A heat wave that has baked much of the nation this week has been blamed for at least 28 deaths, three of them in Missouri. A heat wave that has baked much of the nation this week has been blamed for at least 28 deaths, three of them in Missouri. The death toll in Oklahoma alone rose to seven. The state medical examiner's office said the heat causd the deaths of four elderly people on Thursday, including one in Oklahoma City, where the high that day was 107. Oklahoma City was so hot that a portion of Interstate 44 buckled, forcing the temporary closure of two lanes. In St. Louis, the weather has flip-flopped between sweltering heat and violent storms. As many as 500,000 Ameren Corp. customers in the area lost power Wednesday, making Thursday's heat that much more unbearable http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,204880,00.html