December 12, 2007	Wednesday	Zilhaj 1, 1428

OKLAHOMA CITY, Dec 11: A deadly winter storm sweeping the US midwest was on Tuesday wreaking havoc with the presidential campaign, after reportedly killing some 23 people and cutting power to some 800,000 homes.

The snow and ice robbed candidates of a valuable day of campaigning with just three weeks to go before the first key nominating contests, as airports were closed, and roads became impassable due to a slick sheen of ice.

The storm has killed two dozen people since it started sweeping across the US Plains over the weekend, CNN reported.

Most of the fatalities were in car crashes as vehicles skidded off icy roads, but at least one person in Oklahoma was reported to have frozen to death.

The storm shut down airports, roads, government offices, businesses and schools.

Power outages affected close to 600,000 homes and businesses in Oklahoma, more than 100,000 in Missouri and a further 90,000 in Kansas, electricity companies said.—AFP