Heat forces St. Louis evacuations

Troops help 300,000 lacking power in St. Louis-Heat blamed for at least 20 deaths in Midwest; Cloudy skies bring relief - Associated Press

ST. LOUIS - Overcast skies provided some relief Friday for hundreds of thousands of people without electricity to run air conditioners as the nation sweated through a week of stifling heat. With more than 300,000 homes and businesses still without power, National Guard troops, police, firefighters and volunteers were back out knocking on doors and offering bottled water as they checked on elderly residents. One health officials likened the way the city’s older brick homes retain heat to a furnace in the summertime. See:Heat forces St. Louis evacuations