Teen accused of Cork gang rape tells court he had sex with alleged victim in van

31/10/2012 - 18:01:09
A teenager accused of taking part in a gang rape of a woman in Cork told gardaí he and his cousin had sex with the alleged victim in the back of a van.

He is one of three accused, who have each pleaded not guilty to four charges, namely the rape, oral rape, attempted rape and sexual assault of a woman at an unknown location in Cork on September 13, 2009.

The alleged victim, aged 31 at the time, told the jury she was drunk after a night out and that she can't remember how she ended up in the back of a van with strangers.

In a garda interview watched by the jury, the then 15-year-old accused described picking her up in a van in the early hours.

He said he was sitting by her on a mattress in the back when she began kissing his neck which led to sex.

He said afterwards he went to the front of the van while his cousin, then aged 16, got in the back and lay on top of her.

He said all he could hear was kissing.

He told gardaí that a third teenager, who was 18 at the time, started saying hurry give me a lash before he too got in the back, having stopped the van.

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Obama visits New Jersey victims

31/10/2012 - 08:19:22
President Barack Obama, locked in a tight re-election bid, is skipping campaign events in battleground states to visit victims of superstorm Sandy in New Jersey, a state he’s confident of winning.

The president’s actions, emphasising his incumbent’s role for a third straight day, have forced Republican challenger Mitt Romney to walk a careful line and make tough choices.

The former Massachusetts governor must show respect for the superstorm’s casualties along the eastern seaboard, but he can ill afford to waste a minute of campaign time with the contest virtually deadlocked in several key states and the election six days away.

After tamping down his partisan tone yesterday at an Ohio event that chiefly emphasised relief efforts, Mr Romney plans three full-blown campaign rallies today in Florida, the largest competitive state.

Sandy largely spared Florida so Mr Romney calculates he can campaign there without appearing callous.

Mr Obama’s revised schedule is a political gamble too. Rather than use the campaign’s final Wednesday to woo voters in the states that will decide the election, he will go before cameras with New Jersey’s Republican governor, Chris Christie.

Mr Christie is one of Mr Romney’s most prominent supporters, and a frequent Obama critic, but he praised the president’s handling of the response to Sandy, a political twist Mr Obama’s visit is sure to underscore.

Mr Obama cancelled his campaign appearances today but is staying in the public eye as commander of federal relief efforts. Yesterday, he visited the American Red Cross headquarters – a short walk from the White House – to commiserate with victims and encourage aid workers.

“This is a tough time for millions of people. But America is tougher,” he said.

Mr Romney wavered in his strategy. First the campaign said he would skip a rally in Ohio yesterday out of sympathy for the storm victims, then he decided to do the event but recast it as a storm-relief effort, shorn of the usual campaign speech.

“It’s part of the American spirit, the American way, to give to people in need,” Mr Romney told supporters in Kettering, Ohio, before they lined up to hand him bags of canned food for storm victims.

Adding to his dilemma are the candidate’s previous statements on the federal government’s role in emergency management. He said he believes state and local governments should have primary responsibility for emergency clean-up rather than central government, and refused yesterday to answer repeated questions from reporters about what he would do with the Federal Emergency Management Agency if he wins the election.

Asked about federal aid to help recover and rebuild from Sandy, Romney spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg said: “A Romney-Ryan administration will always ensure that disaster funding is there for those in need. Period.”

For Mr Obama, missing a few days of active campaigning for vital presidential duties may be a good trade, politically speaking.

Lingering anger about George Bush’s performance when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005 provides a backdrop that could benefit Mr Obama if his administration does a solid job, analysts said.

For US president  Mr Obama, the federal response to the disaster could make or break his bid for a second term. His reputation could suffer if the federal government’s response is feeble or botched.

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Sandy pummels W. Virginia as grueling recovery begins on East Coast

Sandy spawns blizzard in West Virginia

(CNN) -- Faced with one of the most daunting recoveries imaginable, ravaged cities in the Northeast must now clean up waterlogged buildings, burned homes and crippled infrastructure -- while millions of people remain without power.

Although some New York City transit and airports come back to life Wednesday, much of the country's biggest city remains paralyzed.

Meanwhile, New Jersey neighborhoods are still deluged under feet of water ahead of President Barack Obama's scheduled visit to the state Wednesday.

And states farther west are grappling with Superstorm Sandy's dramatic encore -- a blizzard that dumped 3 feet of snow in West Virginia and left hundreds of thousands in the shivering cold.

The arduous road to recovery seems as formidable as Sandy itself.

Transportation mess slowly untangles

After days of canceled flights and stranded travelers, two New York-area airports -- John F. Kennedy and Newark Liberty -- are slated to reopen Wednesday with limited service.

But New York's LaGuardia airport is expected to remain closed Wednesday because of significant damage.

Photos: Sandy's destructive path

Blood shortage due to Sandy

Sandy floods NYC, New Jersey subways

The city's massive subway network will remain offline for several more days as workers try to recover the inundated underground lifeline. New York's bus service will resume a nearly full schedule Wednesday, but it likely won't accommodate the 5 million commuters who rely on the subway every day.

Is Sandy a taste of things to come?

Likewise, the transportation headaches in New Jersey are far from over.

The rail operations center of NJ Transit was crippled by 8 feet of water, and an emergency generator was submerged, officials said.

At least 65 locomotive engines and 257 rail cars were damaged by floodwater. It will be weeks before service resumes on the New Jersey coast line.

"There is major damage on each and every one of New Jersey's rail lines," Gov. Chris Christie said. "Large sections of track were washed out."

Storm's state-by-state effect

Philadelphia commuters are more fortunate. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority will resume regional rail service Wednesday morning, SEPTA said.

Still in the dark

Early Wednesday morning, at least 6.2 million electric customers across the eastern United States were still in the dark.

At one point, about 300,000 people in West Virginia shivered without power as remnants of Superstorm Sandy dumped a barrage of snow.

iReporters share Hurricane Sandy images

That number dropped to 236,000 Wednesday morning. But residents can't necessarily count on the power staying on long.

As snow continues falling, so do power lines and tree limbs -- meaning residents are still at risk of going cold.

How you can help

"The storm absolutely outpaces anything we have ever seen since moving here," said Allison Vencel of Morgantown, West Virginia.

Vencel's electricity has sputtered out four times. But that's not foremost on her mind. The family is wondering how they'll be able drive to her daughter's wedding in Virginia this weekend.

Forecasters predict even more snow for West Virginia on Wednesday, coupled with winds so fierce that the snow will fall sideways.

Sandy's other hazards

Ironically, the storm that dumped more than 10 feet of water has left many without clean drinking water.

Parts of New York City had no running water for a second day, and cities such as New Brunswick, New Jersey, urged residents to boil drinking water.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a task for those recovering from the storm:

"Clean and disinfect everything that got wet," he tweeted. "Mud left from floodwaters can contain sewage and chemicals."

Workers in Howard County, Maryland, scrambled to stop a sewage overflow caused by a power outage.

The raw sewage spilled at a rate of 2 million gallons per hour, county emergency official Karen Spicer said. It was unclear how much sewage had flowed into the Little Patuxent River.

Mounting devastation

As Sandy sputters away, it leaves behind at least 101 deaths from Haiti to Canada.

The storm killed 67 people in the Caribbean before slamming into the U.S. East Coast, leaving at least 33 dead. One woman in Canada died after begin struck by debris.

On Wednesday, the New York Police Department reported a total of 22 deaths in the city from Sandy. Previously, Gov. Cuomo's office reported 15 deaths in the state.

In addition to the scores of deaths, the superstorm is also wreaking financial havoc.

The total cost of property damage and lost business is estimated at between $10 billion to $20 billion, according to Eqecat, which provides loss estimates to the insurance industry.

Christie said seeing the damage left behind to the state's treasured beaches was "overwhelming," and the Jersey Shore might never return to its original glory.

"We will rebuild it. No question in my mind, we'll rebuild it," he said. "But for those of us who are my age, it won't be the same. It will be different because many of the iconic things that made it what it was are now gone and washed into the ocean."

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Fallen tree reveals historic bones amid storm devastation

Superstorm Sandy has revealed a skeleton which may date back to Colonial times, police in New Haven, Connecticut, said today.

Millions of people in the US are still without power, and at least 50 are dead, in the wake of the most devastating storm in decades to hit the country’s most densely-populated region.

It comes as US President Barack Obama, locked in a tight re-election bid, skipped campaign events in battleground states to visit victims of the superstorm in New Jersey.

Spokesman David Hartman said a woman who was with other bystanders called police after she saw bones in the upturned roots of a fallen oak tree on the town green.

Mr Hartman said the tree was planted on the green in 1909, on the 100th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s birth.

He said the remains probably belong to one of thousands of people buried there in Colonial times. The remains will be evaluated by the state medical examiner.

Katie Carbo, who called police, told the New Haven Independent she saw something in the tree roots, and found the bones when she removed some dirt.

She said the skeleton “should be given a proper burial”.

Superstorm Sandy, which was reclassified after starting as a hurricane, has killed at least 50 people, many hit by falling trees, as the east coast was ravaged.

It inched inland across Pennsylvania, ready to bank toward western New York state to dump more of its water and likely cause more havoc last night.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, when asked to assess the damage left by the storm, said: “Nature is an awful lot more powerful than we are.”

More than 8.2 million households were without power in 17 states as far west as Michigan.

Nearly two million of those were in New York, where large parts of lower Manhattan lost electricity and entire streets ended up underwater – as did seven subway tunnels between Manhattan and Brooklyn at one point, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said.

The New York Stock Exchange was closed for a second day from weather, the first time that has happened since a blizzard in 1888.

The city’s subway system, the lifeblood of more than five million residents, was damaged like never before and closed indefinitely, and Consolidated Edison said electricity in and around New York could take a week to restore.

Though early predictions of river flooding in Sandy’s inland path were petering out, colder temperatures made snow the main product of Sandy’s slow march from the sea.

Parts of the West Virginia mountains were blanketed with two feet of snow by yesterday afternoon and drifts four feet deep were reported at Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the Tennessee-North Carolina border.

By yesterday afternoon, there were still only hints of the economic impact of the storm. Airports remained closed across the East Coast and far beyond as tens of thousands of travellers found they were unable to get where they were going.

Forecasting firm IHS Global Insight predicted the storm will end up causing about $20bn in damages.

Sandy began in the Atlantic and knocked around the Caribbean – killing nearly 70 people – and strengthened into a hurricane as it chugged across the southeastern coast of the United States.

Some limited air travel is expected to return to the New York City metro area today following the superstorm.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and Newark International Airport in New Jersey will open at 7am with limited service. They were closed in the storm.

It is unclear what carriers will have flights operating.

The Port Authority says some carriers will be landing planes with no passengers at JFK starting Tuesday night to be prepared for flights the next day.

New York’s LaGuardia Airport remains closed.

The parts of New York City still without power are seeing increased police patrols and other stepped-up security measures as they face the prospect of days without electricity.

Mr Bloomberg promised “a very heavy police presence” in the darkened neighbourhoods. Some prominent galleries in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighbourhood have brought in private security.

Officials said power might not be back until the weekend for hundreds of thousands of people.

There was no sign of looting or widespread crime, although about a dozen people were arrested in Coney Island and Queens on charges of trying to steal from shops, a pharmacy and a bank where the entire front was missing.

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Sandy changes lives forever -- here are three of their stories

Aerial images from the U.S. Coast Guard show the coastline in Brigantine, New Jersey, on Tuesday, October 30. Sandy struck land near Atlantic City, New Jersey, around high tide Monday night.

(CNN) -- Sandy disrupted the lives of millions of people when it turned toward the Northeast United States and morphed into a superstorm. Most will return to their routine in time, but some lives are forever changed.

Among those people, here are three of their stories:

Emergency: A desperate rush to save lives in a hospital

The doctors, nurses and staff at the New York University's Langone Medical Center acted fast Monday evening when their hospital basement flooded, cutting off power and the roof-top generators choked under Sandy's torrential rain.

When the power went out, the hospital staff went into action.

Ventilators giving newborns breath failed, lights dimmed and elevators in the 15-floor hospital stopped.

Dr. Andrew Brotman described a desperate rush to find other hospitals to take their 260 patients and ambulances to take them there along streets flooded by the superstorm.

The hospital was empty of patients by 11 a.m. Tuesday, but Brotman and his colleagues were left with the challenge of reclaiming it from Sandy's fury.

Read more about the fast-thinking efforts of the hospital staff

Rescue: Police chief aids hundreds who stayed behind

One of Ralph Verdi's jobs as police chief of Little Ferry, New Jersey, is to make sure residents heed warnings when danger approaches.

New Jersey was slammed hard. This is Atlantic City.

But many of the 10,000 residents who rode out Irene last year -- the first hurricane to make landfall in New Jersey in 108 years -- might have seen Sandy as another overhyped storm.

When Sandy lived up to her billing and flooded Little Ferry and two neighboring towns, Verdi's job became the rescue of residents trapped in the top floors and roofs of their homes by 6-feet-deep water.

Rescuers under Verdi's direction scrambled to save a Bergen County woman who waved and shouted from her front porch.

The chief has been too busy to count how many people have been whisked from rising water, but he knew it was in the hundreds -- with many others, some in pajamas and barefoot, calling for help.

Read more about the rescue efforts in hard-hit New Jersey

Death: She answered the call of the sea and history

While the patients at Brotman's hospital and the people Verdi rescued all survived, Sandy took the life of Claudene Christian.

Claudene Christian was thrilled to be a part of the Bounty.

Christian, 42, was living her dream as a deckhand on a replica of the historic HMS Bounty before giant waves, churned up by Hurricane Sandy, overtook the three-masted, 180-foot sailing vessel off North Carolina's coast early Monday.

While 14 crew members made it to lifeboats, waves washed Christian, Capt. Robin Waldridge and another crew members overboard. The third crew member eventually swam to a lifeboat.

The U.S. Coast Guard staged a daring helicopter rescue: They flew into the hurricane's outer bands and plucked the surviving crew members from two lifeboats.

Christian's body was later pulled from the sea, but Waldridge remained missing Tuesday.

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Man hurt on nightclub noose prop

A man was left in a critical condition after accidentally hanging himself on a noose that had been set up as a Halloween prop at a nightclub.

The 25-year-old was taken to hospital from Pink Punters in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire just after 11pm yesterday, Thames Valley Police said.

His condition has since improved at Milton Keynes Hospital and he is now talking to staff. Officers said they will work with the local council to investigate the safety of the event.

The owner of the club, which attracts gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender people, said it was a “freak accident” involving a low-hung prop that had been safely used for several years.

Superintendent Barry Halliday said: “I appreciate that this incident may have caused some concern in the community. However, I would stress that it appears to be a tragic accident and is not any type of hate-related crime.

“Fortunately, the man’s condition has improved considerably in recent hours. Police will work with the local council and other partner agencies to investigate the safety of the event.”

Club owner Frank McMahon said: “There was an accident involving a Halloween prop which had been in use for several years at the club. It is a safe system.

“It’s just a rope with a large noose which doesn’t go tight around the neck. People use it so they can have photographs taken. We’ve never had a previous incident with it.

“It’s one of several props that we use, and is low down to the ground. We do have an excellent safety system in place and we believe it to be a freak accident.”

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Swedish princess to wed American 'soulmate'

Princess Madeleine pictured on July 14, 2012 in Borgholm, Sweden.

(CNN) -- Sweden's royals will soon be welcoming an American into the family, after the royal court announced Thursday the engagement of Princess Madeleine and Christopher O'Neill, a wealthy New York financier.

The brown-haired, blue-eyed princess described O'Neill as her "soulmate" and said he had opened her heart -- perhaps reflecting her heartbreak after a previous engagement was called off in 2010 amid reports of infidelity by her then fiance.

Princess Madeleine Therese Amelie Josephine, to give her full name, is the youngest child of Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia and fourth in line to the Scandanavian nation's throne.

The couple, who live in New York, met through mutual friends, Madeleine said, in an interview released by the royal court along with the engagement announcement.

Sweden's new princess is born

Madeleine, 30, said they had been great friends at first before romance blossomed, sharing the same humor and having "a lot of fun together."

Read more: When UK's William and Kate got married

"I appreciate Chris for his warmth and his humor. He has a very big heart and he manages to make everyone in his presence feel good. Christopher is a very thoughtful and generous person," she said.

Love struck quicker for O'Neill, who said that "from the very outset, I immediately felt something special with Madeleine."

Princess Madeleine said the proposal, earlier this month, had been "very romantic and intimate" but that they wanted to keep the details to themselves.

O'Neill, who has dual British-American citizenship, confirmed he had taken the traditional route and asked her father, the king, for her hand in marriage.

The king gave his consent and "requested the approval by the Swedish Government, in accordance with the procedures set out in the Swedish Constitution," the court announcement said.

Queen Silvia is quoted by Swedish daily newspaper Aftonbladet as saying: "The princess is very happy and so are we. He is a real dream-son-in-law."

The wedding will take place in summer 2013 but a date has not yet been announced.

O'Neill may have been reassured by the fact he's not the first commoner to marry into Sweden's royal family in recent years.

Madeleine's elder sister, Crown Princess Victoria, wed her former personal trainer in June 2010. Gym owner Daniel Westling was given the title Prince Daniel, Duke of Vaestergoetland, on their marriage. The couple had a daughter in February who became second in line to the throne of Sweden, as the first grandchild of the king and queen.

O'Neill, 38, says he is still working on learning Swedish but has been given a warm welcome by the royal family.

Brides no longer wedded to white

"I felt part of the family right from the very beginning. Madeleine's family is very warm and we have a very good time when we all see each other," he said.

Born in London, where his late father Paul O'Neill was posted from his native New York, Christopher was educated at a Swiss boarding school before gaining an MBA from Columbia Business School in New York, according to an official biography provided by the Swedish court.

A 16-year career within the field of finance followed. He is currently a partner and head of research at Noster Capital, which has offices in New York and London -- as well as being a keen sportsman and Chelsea Football Club fan.

His mother, Eva Maria O'Neill, is quoted by the court as saying: "As the mother of Christopher O'Neill I am delighted at the happy news. I look forward to welcoming Princess Madeleine, who I am very fond of, into our family. I wish them both all possible happiness."

The couple will remain in New York for the time being but have not ruled out a move to Sweden in future.

Madeleine reportedly moved to New York in 2010 to get over her split from ex-fiance Jonas Bergstrom, which came just two months before her sister's wedding.

The broken tryst followed reports that Bergstrom was "intimate" with a Norwegian college student and handball star while they were engaged.

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Scary snaps: How to shoot frighteningly good photos this Halloween

If you want to capture some truly eerie images this Halloween then you must master the dark arts of light and shadow.

(CNN) -- Taking photographs means drawing with light, even at times like Halloween when it's all about the dark. Spooky shadows and glowing pumpkins can be a challenge, but most smartphones and compact cameras will let you capture Halloween night a treat, if you develop a few simple tricks.

Master the dark side

There's nothing like bright flash for lighting the eerie out of an atmosphere, so switch it off. Or try holding a small piece of cellophane over the flash -- red is great for adding ghoulish ambience.

One of the photographer's favorite Halloween friends is the humble torch -- don't leave home without one. It will offer you all kinds of creative and practical solutions, including simply lighting up your subject so you can focus in the dark.

Freelance photographer Teri Pengilley

The ISO setting is also crucial for low light -- increasing the ISO will increase your camera's sensitivity to light. However, the higher the ISO, the greater the "noise" -- flecks in solid-colored areas of the image. Some cameras and smartphones can handle high ISOs better than others, so test your first.

Celebrating Halloween this weekend? Send us your scariest shots

Steady your claws

Low light also means longer exposures, which brings in camera shake. Wherever possible put your camera on a tripod, or rest it on a steady surface like a wall. Try to use a shutter release cable, or if not make sure you squeeze the shutter button as gently as possible whilst supporting the camera from underneath, keeping as still as possible.

Dance with the devil

A tripod, self-timer and long exposure will give you a whole gallery of tricks and treats. Play with walking through a long-exposure frame to capture a ghostly outline, or get your friends to stand as still as possible under a light whilst you run around them drawing ghastly creations with a bright torch. The long exposure will capture your torch drawings and your frozen friends, but, as long as you keep moving, you won't be visible (it helps to wear dark clothes).

Focus on your prey

Fast lenses are another must -- set your aperture as wide as it will open to let in as much light as possible on each exposure. Wide apertures give shallow depth of field -- meaning that only the part of the image you focus on will be sharp. Bring your camera in as close as it will focus on a diabolic Halloween detail, such as a painted eyeball, and fill the frame for a dramatic shot.

Know your ghosts from your goblins? Take the Halloween quiz

Summon a ghoulish glow

Try putting your camera inside your pumpkin, using the jagged eyes and teeth to peer through
Teri Pengilley, photographer

Anyone familiar with "The Blair Witch Project" knows about the deeply unsettling power of holding a light under the face. It's time for that trusty torch again. Our eyes are accustomed to overhead light, like the sun, and any light source from underneath is an instant spine-shiverer.

Concoct creepy compositions

Once you've got to grips with spooky lighting, it's time to think about composition. Halloween is filled with demonic delights to frame your image, or add that extra creepy texture. Try putting your camera inside your pumpkin, using the jagged eyes and teeth to peer through (set it on self-timer first) or place the black net of a costume spider's web in front of the lens, with a well-positioned spider to one corner of the frame. Make sure you throw some light onto your framing devices as well as your subjects.

Read: Move over, kids. Halloween is for grownups

Practice makes (paranormal) perfection

Finally don't forget that preparation is key. Practice night-time shots with your smartphone or camera and have it all set up before the big night - you really don't want to be fumbling with the dials through the confines of your Freddy Krueger gloves

Read more »

As Sandy descends, tips from Katrina survivors

President Barack Obama steps off Air Force One on Monday, October 29, upon arrival at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. Obama canceled his appearance at a campaign rally in Orlando, Florida, and returned early to Washington to monitor the response to Hurricane Sandy.

(CNN) -- Hurricane veterans know when a bad one's coming. It's like those who feel the barometric pressure drop of approaching storm systems in their bones. I got the vibe midweek.

So I asked my friends on the Gulf Coast, hardy survivors of Hurricane Katrina, what advice they would share with those in Hurricane Sandy's path. But I didn't want the usual flashlight, batteries, water, generator, gasoline tips. Tell them something they don't know, I asked, something that helped get you through.

Kathleen Koch

Here's what they said:

• Outdoor solar lights can be brought in at night to light the indoors.

• When you make a video of your home for insurance purposes beforehand, open drawers and closets so the contents are visible.

• Have a tire plug repair kit and pliers to pull out nails or screws, since debris in the roadway causes flats and leaks that are tough to repair when everything is closed.

• Extend your cell phone battery's life by texting instead of calling and turning off Internet/Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/GPS connections.

• Bank safes and safe deposit boxes are not waterproof. During flooding, items left in them may be damaged and not accessible for weeks.

• Have thick tarps and roofing tacks in case you lose shingles from the wind.

What I didn't expect was the advice of a different nature that many added after their practical tips:

• Faith and the knowledge that no matter what, your life and the life of your family is more important than any material possession you may have.

• Keep a positive attitude and help your neighbor!

• Remember to have patience with your family, friends and neighbors. ... Work together and share your resources.

• Talk to each other. Share old stories. Some of the best relationships were made in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, as neighbors discovered new friends next door and grew closer helping one another through a trying time.

Northeast braces for Hurricane Sandy

Bloomberg announces evacuation

MD governor.: Stay home, hunker down

• Read a book.

Keep a hurricane preparation checklist

These are heartfelt suggestions from those who know what it's like to lose everything all at once. Disaster has a way of focusing the mind and leveling the playing field. Doctors and bankers stood next to mechanics and janitors in food lines in my Gulf Coast hometown of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, in the weeks after Hurricane Katrina.

Such brutal shocks to the system are inevitable. No one can stop them, though human beings prefer to imagine we are omnipotent. We have access to virtually anything with the click of a mouse or a tap on our smartphones. We can Skype with someone on the other side of the world. We can land a rover on Mars and find proof of ancient rivers. We can do anything -- except control Mother Nature.

We don't like that, because it forces us to accept that we are vulnerable. Nations, states, cities and individuals wisely invest time and money on prevention efforts, but we can't really predict when, where and how the effects of nature at its worst will be felt.

What we can control is our reaction. And researchers report that contrary to popular myth, during disasters most people don't adopt an "every man for himself" attitude. Most react with responsibility and concern for their neighbors. I have seen it myself, over decades covering blizzards, floods, hurricanes and more.

Nearly five years after Hurricane Katrina, I was present at a remarkable discussion between the mayor of Bay St. Louis and his wife. Most of the town's homes and businesses were heavily damaged or destroyed in 2005 when the monster storm's 30-foot surge, sustained 125 mph winds and hopscotching tornadoes roared through. But the town and its people recovered.

"It was amazing. It really was," said Eddie Favre of the spirit of kindness, generosity and selflessness that prevailed in the months after the hurricane. "It would be nice to reclaim some of that patience and understanding. I wish we could go back to it."

"I feel bad saying it, but I really miss it," agreed his wife Jan. "We were all so close."

Times of disaster reveal not just our human fragility, but our strengths. It is at times like this that we learn what we are made of. People come together, share what they have and accept help from others. Suddenly differences that once seemed insurmountable turn out to be quite insignificant. The worst of times can bring out the best.

Read more »

How Sandy will test Obama, Romney

(CNN) -- The hurricane that is blowing through the East Coast has threatened to create the kind of unpredictable havoc in this election that presidential candidates always fear. With all the scripted television spots and carefully choreographed live appearances, Hurricane Sandy is generating fear that might push the campaign in directions that nobody has expected.

Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama, and their circles of advisers, are likely glued to the weather coverage, trying to figure out which way this hurricane will make the election winds blow.

Social scientists have studied the impact of extreme weather on elections in American history, such as the ways in which Hurricane Andrew in Florida affected the 1992 contest between President George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton

Julian Zelizer

But the severity of the unfolding hurricane, which will stretch across several states if the worst predictions come true, might be more dramatic than anything we have seen in a long time. The hurricane will pose a huge test for Obama in the next few days, one that will make the debate in Denver look like child's play.

Politics: Sandy disrupts campaigns

As voters, particularly those who are undecided, deliberate over whom they should support, they will watch Obama as he navigates through the storm and the post-storm clean-up. The crisis offers an opportunity for him to act presidential in a way for which some voters are thirsting and to demonstrate the kind of command that has often been lacking.

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He does not want to be an echo to President George W. Bush's response to Hurricane Katrina, which became a symbol of incompetence.

At the same time, there is little that Mitt Romney can do, other than watch to see what people think of Obama's response, because any statement from him could easily become seen as political and offer little evidence of his own ability to lead.

The storm has already forced the campaigns to alter their short-term strategies. Already, both campaigns have canceled events in key states such as Virginia that are in the eye of the storm.

Romney will certainly have to pull some of the television spots that he has been getting ready to unleash in the final days of the campaign. Romney's strategy has focused on saving for a last-minute advertising blitz for which he planned to unload his campaign's coffers. Republicans didn't count on a storm getting in the way.

Axelrod: Storm makes campaigning harder

Presidential politics and the storm

Jersey Shore braces for hurricane

As Americans watch to see their fellow countrymen and women struggling through a crisis, they won't want to be bombarded with 30-second attack ads.

The Romney campaign will have to quickly think of ways to redesign their ads in certain states so that they fit the moment and provide voters with hope about new leadership rather than take the risk of generating criticism of the GOP being too petty and political, as occurred with Libya. Romney's team will have to redirect some of their energy toward states not affected, leaving the airwaves silent in the other states, waiting to see whether Romney has the momentum that can carry him.

Crowley: Sandy introduces big unknown into campaign

There is also the effect Sandy will have on the media, which already has focused primarily on the weather and much less on the presidential campaign. This gives candidates less space and time to influence events. Ordinarily, this would be a valuable time, a period when campaigns have one last week to shape voters' preferences, but this will become extraordinary difficult.

If electric power fails and people become preoccupied with personal hardships, there will be less time to focus on politics and it's possible that voter perceptions might be frozen into place.

Finally there is the big question of voting behavior. How will severe weather affect voters in states such as Virginia?

Many observers expect that this could depress voting in lower-income areas, which are often badly affected and which have the least resources to recover, a development which would naturally hurt Democrats. It also has caused cancellations in early voting that might have benefited Obama's vote total.

Another unpredictable factor is the sheer anger and frustration that can come from a weather crisis like this, which might very well intensify the broader sense of malaise that exists in the electorate. Even to those who are not in the path of the hurricane, this could feel like one more punch in the face to a nation tired of waiting for real economic recovery.

We can hope the most dire predictions about Hurricane Sandy will be wrong. But if they are not, the presidential candidates will face a massive test. Both candidates will need to scramble to make sure they handle it well.

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Shuddering houses, falling limbs evoke storm fears

A pedestrian walks across a New York street where the power was out late Monday, October 29. The storm surge set records in Lower Manhattan, where flooded substations caused a widespread power outage.

Beyond the driving rain, howling wind, closed schools and canceled flights, Hurricane Sandy evoked fear among East Coast residents battered by other storms in recent years.

People hunkered down in homes and shelters with emergency kits at the ready Monday, unsure of what will happen when the huge storm reaches shore from Maryland to Connecticut and collides with a cold front over New England.

Memories of last year's Hurricane Irene, with flooding and falling trees that killed unsuspecting victims, further unnerved longtime coastal residents who watched storm surges top sea walls and wipe out docks in the hours before the full brunt of Sandy was due to hit.

A shuddering house and snapping tree limbs told Joseph Braha all he needed to know about what was coming.

"It's a real extreme event that's going to take place," the 36-year-old Braha said by phone from Asbury Park, New Jersey, where he and his wife and three daughters sat in the living room, "hoping and praying for the best."

Watch the evolution of the superstorm

See damage inside cruise ship from Sandy

Kite boarders take on Hurricane Sandy

Raw video: Long Island flooding

The girls -- a 7-year-old and 3-year-old twins -- were "not too happy" but were handling it pretty well so far, he said, describing a scene right out of "Key Largo" and other films that depict waiting out a hurricane.

"There's a lot of wind that is shaking the house," Braha said. "I'm hearing some crackling in the trees as well. I've seen some branches falling down."

Supplies including flashlights and packed travel bags are ready, as are sandbags and life jackets in case the ocean two blocks away rises even further.

"The jetties are completely invisible," Braha said of the waterfront. "No one's even attempting to head down to the water. It's just too dangerous."

At Baltimore-Washington International airport, newlyweds Jessie and Nicholas Lasko of Mount Airy, Maryland, huddled in a corner of an eerily silent terminal, their flight to a Jamaican honeymoon canceled -- along with thousands of others due to Sandy.

They just didn't think the storm they heard about on the news would disrupt their plans -- a Sunday night wedding followed by an early drive to catch their plane, the couple said.

"We were supposed to be on a plane right now on our way to Jamaica," new Mrs. Lasko said. "We're sad. Guess we'll have to reschedule."

Amtrak canceled all train service on its busy Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston through Tuesday, and the city of Baltimore restricted driving to emergency vehicles and other authorized users on Monday night until at least 12 noon on Tuesday.

More than 3,200 people spent Sunday night in 112 American Red Cross shelters in nine states -- New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and Massachusetts. Officials said they expected that number to increase on Monday night.

In New York City, CNN iReporter Noah Garden watched rising water levels at his summer home in Ventnor, New Jersey, through a live video feed from his home security camera mounted on the backyard deck.

"My neighbor's deck is submerged under water," said Garden, 41, explaining what that means to the attached boat docks that rise with the water levels. "I am assuming tonight the docks are going to go."

Garden also knew that the storm could easily knock out power at his New York residence, which would end his long-distance viewing of the damage in Ventnor.

In Sea Bright, New Jersey, Yvette Cafaro scrawled a plea on the plywood that covered her burger restaurant: "Be kind to us Sandy."

The seaside area largely dodged Hurricane Irene, and Cafaro was hoping for another reprieve, but not optimistic.

"Everything that we've been watching on the news looks like this one will really get us," she said. "We're definitely worried about it."

Others were less concerned.

On Coney Island in the New York borough of Brooklyn, iReporter Kim Lofgren said she would wait out the storm, just like she did last year with Irene.

"It was exciting, but we didn't have any damage. I know this is going to be a lot worse," said the 30-year-old Lofgren, who acknowledged that others didn't share her sense of adventure.

"Around me, it's always a mix," Lofgren said. "There are people who panic and evacuate and there are people who have been by the ocean for a long time and they're unfazed by it."

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Hurricane Sandy intensifies, has 90 mph sustained winds

[Updated 1:48 p.m. ET] Atlantic City, New Jersey, will be under a curfew Monday night, as Hurricane Sandy approaches landfall, a city official told CNN. "There will be a curfew tonight beginning at 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. for the entire Atlantic City area," Capt. Frank Brennan of the Atlantic City Police Department said.
[Updated 1:39 p.m. ET] The New York Stock Exchange will be closed again Tuesday because of Hurricane Sandy, the exchange said.
Track the economic impact of Hurricane Sandy with CNNMoney.com.
[Updated 1:38 p.m. ET] Here's what the winds are doing in Connecticut:

[Updated 1:29 p.m. ET] Hurricane Sandy's devastating windy march up the U.S. East Coast is expected to cause as much as $10 billion in insured losses, according to a disaster modeling firm, CNNMoney reports.
[Updated 1:22 p.m. ET] Sustained tropical storm-force winds of 41 mph are now being reported at Boston's Logan International Airport, the National Weather Service said on Monday afternoon.
[Updated 1:18 p.m. ET] "Jimmy Kimmel Live" has canceled its broadcast on Monday from the Harvey Theater at Brooklyn Academy of Music. In a statement obtained by CNN Entertainment, the show said the call was made "in the interest of the safety of our studio audience."
[Updated 1:15 p.m. ET] President Obama has declared a state of emergency for the state of Delaware due to Hurricane Sandy, according to a release from the White House.
[Updated 1:02 p.m. ET] President Barack Obama called on Americans to heed local storm evacuation orders Monday. Anyone who doesn't follow evacuation orders, he said, is "putting first responders in danger."
[Updated 1:00 p.m. ET] President Barack Obama said Monday he isn't worried about how Hurricane Sandy might affect the election. "I am not worried at this point about the impact on the election. I'm worried about the impact on families. I'm worried about the impact on first responders. I'm worried about the economy and transportation," he told reporters. "The election will take care of itself next week."
[Updated 12:59 p.m. ET] Gas prices are likely to spike in the days after Hurricane Sandy rips through the Northeast, but they should drop back down before too long, CNNMoney reports.
[Updated 12:56 p.m. ET] Hurricane Sandy is a powerful storm that will affect millions of people, President Obama said Monday."We are certain that this is going to be a slow-moving process through a wide swath of the country, and millions of people are going to affected," Obama said, speaking to reporters from the White House after a Situation Room briefing on the storm.
[Updated 12:42 p.m. ET] If your power goes out, don’t try to fix it yourself, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Monday.
“If you do not have power, please do not choose today as the time you decide to tap into your creative juices and jerry-rig a power source. … If it looks stupid, it is stupid,” he said.
By Monday afternoon, more than 35,000 customers had lost power throughout the state.
[Updated 12:28 p.m. ET] As of noon today, water levels are already as high as 5.2 feet above tidal predictions in some areas.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has a look at water levels up and down the eastern seaboard.
[Updated 12:24 p.m. ET] There have been more than 8,900 flight cancellations so far as a result of Hurricane Sandy, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.com. Get CNN.com's full travel update.
[Updated 12:23 p.m. ET] About 116,000 consumers in seven states are without power, according to information from power providers' websites.
[Updated 12:19 p.m. ET] Even with rains from Hurricane Sandy, guards still stand at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.  This photo from last year is being tweeted repeatedly today.

Marta Evry @venice4change

AMAZING PHOTO: Even a hurricane won't keep the honor guard from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier this morning. #Sandy pic.twitter.com/VkH3NLhQ

29 Oct 12

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[Updated 12:16 p.m. ET] Ocean City, Maryland, is seeing substantial flooding.

DC Maryland Virginia @DMVFollowers

It's gotten VERY ugly in Ocean City. Almost looks like Katrina. Here's a picture of what used to be 94th street pic.twitter.com/L5O6HLlm #Sandy

 

[Updated 12:13 p.m. ET] Both the Obama and Romney campaigns have canceled events through Tuesday because of Hurricane Sandy.
Follow coverage at the CNN Political Ticker.
[Updated 12:11 p.m. ET] New York is warning food sellers, gas stations, cab companies and other businesses: No price gouging in Sandy’s wake.
State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman issued an open letter saying his office is prepared to go after anyone who breaks the law.
In it, he also praises and thanks all those who are working to supply people with what they need, and he writes, “New Yorkers have always been at their best when facing adversity, and I am confident that we will live up to that standard throughout this hurricane.”
[Updated 12:09 p.m. ET] The pier in Ocean City, Maryland, has been destroyed, according to this Twitter post.owers

Ocean City Pier has been destroyed. At least 100 feet washed away. pic.twitter.com/fboK9aCh #Sandy

 

[Updated 12:04 p.m. ET] Officials are evacuating several hundred people from west Atlantic City, an area filled with many single-story motels where water levels are "dangerously high," said county spokeswoman Linda Gilmore. "Conditions are deteriorating as we speak," she said. "This storm is unprecedented."
[Updated 12:02 p.m. ET] A replica of the  HMS Bounty has sunk at sea, a Coast Guard official told CNN's Ashleigh Banfield. Fourteen people were rescued from that ship and two are still missing at sea, Vice Adm. Robert Parker said on CNN.
[Updated 11:54 a.m. ET] CNN viewers say they are stranded in Brooklyn, New York.

 Thank you for your amazing coverage Soledad! Here we are marooned in Red Hook, Brooklyn!!

29 Oct 12

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[Updated 11:52 a.m. ET] New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned that the city is “well within the danger zone” of the storm, and said parts of the city could see significant storm surges between 6 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Monday night.
[Updated 11:50 a.m. ET] Flooding at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

Martin Cornick @MartinMMC

Flooding in front of student dorms at Old  Dominion University in Norfolk from

 

[Updated 11:42 a.m. ET] Atlantic City is under extremely heavy flooding in many areas, police tell CNN.
The tide is starting to go down, but when Hurricane Sandy makes landfall Monday night, officials expect flooding to become far worse, the city police department said.
[Updated 11:41 a.m. ET] More than 35,500 customers of United Illuminating in Bridgeport, Connecticut, will lose power around noon when a power station will be compromised by floodwaters, CNN affiliate WFSB reports.
[Updated 11:32 a.m. ET] President Obama will deliver a statement after his White House Situation Room briefing on Hurricane Sandy at 12:45 p.m. ET, according to a release from the White House.
[Updated 11:28 a.m. ET] The Delaware Emergency Management Agency calls this “a pretty vivid visual example of why you should not be venturing out on the roads in Delaware" durring Hurricane Sandy. Level 2 driving restrictions are in place in the state.
The agency posted the photo on its official Facebook page.

A flooded Delaware road Monday morning.

[Updated 11:18 a.m.] The National Weather Service is reporting 24-foot seas off New Jersey.

[Updated 11:11 a.m.] Connecticut is banning trucks from highways, Gov. Dan Malloy announced. Highways will also be closed to all vehicles beginning at 1 p.m.
“Wind gusts will soon exceed 50 mph; travel is dangerous,” he said on Twitter.
[Updated 11:10 a.m.] Power officials were reporting nearly 45,000 customers without electricity across 10 states on Monday morning.
[Updated 11:07 a.m.] Hurricane Sandy has begun flooding areas of Norfolk, Virginia. This video was posted on YouTube.

[Updated 10:57 a.m.] See NASA's 3D image of Hurricane Sandy:
[Updated 10:54 a.m.] Airlines have canceled thousands of flights ahead of Hurricane Sandy, and stranded travelers shouldn't expect any relief until the weekend, CNNMoney reports.
[Updated 10:51 a.m.] NASA will be providing live views of Hurricane Sandy from space.

[Updated 10:49 a.m.] The impact of Hurricane Sandy will be big enough to lower the country’s gross domestic product, economists tell CNNMoney.
The losses can’t yet be calculated, but will include billions in property damage, lost business, lost stock market trades, and more.
[Update 10:46 a.m. ET] If you're in the storm's path, the Department of Homeland Security wants you to take steps to conserve your cellphone's power.

[Update 10:42 a.m. ET] Hurricane Sandy intensified on Monday morning, the National Hurricane Center said. Maximum sustained winds have increased to 90 mph with gusts to 115 mph.

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[Update 10:38 a.m. ET] To prepare for the possibility of flooding, New York officials are closing two tunnels into Manhattan and calling for the deployment of 1,000 additional National Guard troops, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
The Holland Tunnel and the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel are “prone to flood” and will close at 2 p.m. Monday, Cuomo said.
[Update 10:33 a.m. ET] The city of Hoboken, New Jersey, is prohibiting the use of personal vehicles after 4 p.m. ET, CNN affliate WABC reports. The station also says streets near the Atlantic City boardwalk are beginning to flood and tidal waters are crossing the main oceanfront road in Cape May, New Jersey.
[Update 10:28 a.m. ET] Chase and Citibank are waiving overdraft, ATM and late fees for customers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, Time.com reports.
[Update 10:15 a.m. ET] All public transportation services in Boston will be suspended at 2 p.m. Monday.
[Update 10:06 a.m. ET] The Connecticut Department of Transportation has ordered the closure of all state highways as of 1 p.m. ET.
[Update 10:02 a.m. ET] Flooding begins in Manhattan:

 

East River, much more subdued than Hudson today, begins cresting over Pier11, east side of Manhattan

[Update 9:57 a.m. ET] Waves are crashing ashore near the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in Brooklyn, New York.

[Update 9:51 a.m. ET] Power officials now say Hurricane Sandy could affect 60 million people across the eastern U.S., an increase of 10 million from what was forecast on Sunday.

 

Forecasts now predict could affect as many as 60 million people across the Eastern US—up from 50M yesterday.

[Update 9:48 a.m. ET] Wind gusts could reach 80 mph this afternoon and into the evening in New York City, the National Weather Service says.
[Update 9:27 a.m. ET] Early flooding in the Philadelphia area:

My parking lot is now turbulent.

[Update 9:21 a.m. ET] The U.S. Coast Guard has rescued 14 people from the tall ship HMS Bounty, but two are missing, a Coast Guard official tells CNN. The ship was without propulsion and taking on water off North Carolina.
[Update 9:15 a.m. ET] NASA captured an infrared image of what Sandy looked like overnight as it moved up the East Coast.

[Update 9:07 a.m. ET] Hurricane Sandy has shut down concerts in the New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia area,
[Update 9:02 a.m. ET] Flooding has begun in Ventnor City, New Jersey, about 60 miles southeast of Philadelphia.

definitely nervous about my Mom... Surrey Ave in Ventnor 

 

[Update 8:46 a.m. ET] Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy says the high tide at midnight has the potential to cause "unprecedented damage."
“The potential loss of life and loss of property in Connecticut, if these numbers are hit, will be extremely high,” he told reporters. “This is the most catastrophic event that we have faced and been able to plan for in any of our lifetimes. And we continue to do anything in our power to be ready.”
[Update 8:39 a.m. ET] The storm is apparently breaking up parts of  the Atlantic City boardwalk.

Forecasters expect Hurricane Sandy to slow down after the center of the storm makes landfall late Monday or early Tuesday. And Richard Knabb, director of the National Hurricane Center, said he’s “really concerned.”

“Because of the combination of that and the large size, this will be a long duration event for many people along the coast and inland, and a lot of life-threatening hazards here,” he said.
Powerful winds, heavy rainfall and flooding are likely.
“This is going to be a big problem for a lot of folks,” he said.
Virginia's Department of Emergency Management is warning of blizzard conditions in two counties until Wednesday.

[Update 8:23 a.m. ET] Hurricane Sandy is affecting air travelers around the world, including flights from airlines based in the Middle East and Australia.
[Update 8:07 a.m. ET] Officials in New York City are keeping a close eye on how high the seawater is rising, Con Edison spokesman Alfonso Quiroz said.
Since many of the city’s electrical cables are underground, flooding could cause significant damage.
“If the water gets too high, we will preemptively shut down some pieces of equipment…because it is easier for us to make restoration once the water goes down,” Quiroz said.
[Update 8:05 a.m. ET] The Coast Guard says the weather is preventing it from launching a rescue operation for the crew of the 180-foot, three mast tall ship HMS Bounty, which was taking on water and without propulsion in the Atlantic off North Carolina. The 17-person crew is in two lifeboats and wearing cold-water survival suits, the Coast Guard says. See the report from CNN affiliate WTKR.
[Update 7:58 a.m. ET] The National Hurricane Center's 8 a.m. ET update shows no changes in Hurricane Sandy since the 5 a.m. ET update.
"Sandy now moving north-northwestward and accelerating...expected to bring life-threatening storm surge and coastal hurricane winds plus heavy Appalachian snows," the forecast advisory said.
Sandy's maximum sustained winds remain at 85 mph. It is a Category 1 hurricane.
[Update 7:51 a.m. ET] The dangers from this storm extend far from the East Coast. The National Weather Service says wave heights could reach 28 feet in Lake Michigan on Monday night. They could hit 31 feet on Tuesday.
[Update 7:40 a.m. ET] U.S. stock exchanges will be closed Monday as Hurricane Sandy bears down on New York. Read the CNNMoney report here.
[Update 7:34 a.m. ET] Delaware Gov. Jack Markell called on residents to follow the state’s driving restrictions, which went into effect Monday morning as Sandy approached.
“The biggest concerns, the rain and the wind together make driving conditions absolutely miserable so we put in a driving restriction today,” he told CNN.
The restrictions say that only essential personnel can drive as of 5 a.m. Monday.
He also said people could be without power “for some period of time” after the storm and that “those who did not (evacuate), we’re afraid may find themselves cut off.”
[Update 7:22 a.m. ET] The 17-member crew of the tall ship HMS Bounty has abandoned the vessel in the Atlantic Ocean 90 miles southeast of Hatteras, North Carolina, CNN affiliate WTKR reports.
[Update 7:19 a.m. ET] Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Cory Booker just told CNN's Soledad O'Brien:

"My biggest concern is just people not taking it seriously and not taking the proper precautions. We still have some time for people to get ready... We anticipate there could be many days without power afterward."

[Update 7:13 a.m. ET] President Obama has canceled a campaign event in Orlando on Monday to stay at the White House and monitor federal storm preparations.
"Due to deteriorating weather conditions in the Washington area, the president will not attend today's campaign event in Orlando. The president will return to the White House to monitor the preparations for and early response to Hurricane Sandy," White House press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement.
Read CNN's Candy Crowley on how Hurricane Sandy is affecting the presidential campaign.
[Update 7:04 a.m. ET] Some people have not heeded evacuation orders and are putting emergency responders in rescue situations, Delaware's governor says.

[Update 6:45 a.m. ET] Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley tells CNN's Soledad O'Brien that power crews from as far away as Texas and Mississippi are in his state and prepared to make repairs to its power grid.
[Update 6:25 a.m. ET] Delaware's governor has ordered all drivers other than those providing essential services to stay off the state's roads today, CNN affliate WBOC reports.
[Update 5:59 a.m. ET] MegaBus has canceled numerous services in the Northeast through noon on Tuesday and is offering customers booked on other trips through Tuesday in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia the chance to reschedule at no charge. Here is the full list of cancellations.

[Update 5:50 a.m. ET] Amtrak has suspended nearly all service on the Eastern Seaboard for Monday, according to its website:

"All Acela Express, Northeast Regional, Keystone and Shuttle services are canceled for trains originating on that date. Also Empire Service, Adirondack, Vermonter, Ethan Allen and Pennsylvanian train services are suspended, along with the overnight Auto Train, Capitol Limited, Crescent, Lake Shore Limited, Palmetto and Silver Meteor trains.
Exceptions: The Maple Leaf (Trains 63 & 64), will operate only between Toronto, Ontario, Canada and Albany-Rensselaer, N.Y., rather than originating and terminating at New York City; the Carolinian (Trains 79 & 80), will operate only between Charlotte and Raleigh rather than originating and terminating in New York City; the Silver Star (Trains 91 & 92) will operate only between Jacksonville, Tampa and Miami, Fla., rather than originating and terminating in New York City. Piedmont service (Trains 73-76) within North Carolina will operate normally."

Further updates on Amtrak service will come after 6 p.m. Monday or as needed, the website said.
[Update 5:36 a.m. ET]  As Hurricane Sandy closes in on the Northeast, residents are scrambling to prepare. Amy Mueller Campbell told CNN affiliate WMUR she had to drive almost 30 miles - from Nottingham, New Hampshire, to Manchester, New Hampshire - just to find a five-gallon gasoline container. She'll use it to get fuel to power her home generator.
[Update 5:13 a.m. ET]  Hurricane Sandy is playing havoc with international air travel. London's Heathrow Airport says 45 outbound flights to New York, Newark, Baltimore, Washington, Boston and Philadelphia have been canceled. Another 12 inbound flights have been scrubbed.
[Update 5:12 a.m. ET]  The National Hurricane Center says "a little strengthening is possible" before Hurricane Sandy makes landfall late Monday or early Tuesday.
[Update 5:05 a.m. ET] Hurricane Sandy strengthened early Monday with winds of 85 mph, the National Hurricane Center said.
[Update 4:49 a.m. ET] Anna Kate Twitty, a spokeswoman for the Red Cross, was just on CNN and said the organization has multiple shelters across seven states where evacuees can find "a safe place, a warm meal and emotional support." To find a shelter, go to redcross.org, call 1-800-Red-Cross or download the free Red Cross hurricane app for iphone and android users.
[Update 3:54 a.m. ET] The Coast Guard  is responding to a distress call from a ship that is part of the popular culture. The  HMS Bounty, a tall ship built for the 1962 movie "Mutiny on the Bounty," is taking on water off the coast of North Carolina - about 160 miles from the center of Hurricane Sandy.  The Coast Guard says it has “diminished search and rescue capabilities due to the storm.” Seventeen people are on board.
[Update 1:55 a.m. ET] Various primetime shows that are produced in New York (such as, "30 Rock," "Smash," "Elementary," "Person of Interest") are being shut down Monday, according to Deadline.com,  but the opposite appears to be the case with late night shows. Deadline says Letterman, who once taped a show during a blizzard, will go on - as will Jimmy Fallon.
[Update 1:50 a.m. ET] The MTA has posted some incredible photos of a deserted New York on its Flickr feed. Sandbags piled on Broadway. Grand Central Terminal with not a soul in sight. An eerie feel.

[Update 12:50 a.m. ET] The National Hurricane Center says Sandy is about to make its turn toward the north.  The forecast map shows the storm hitting the Jersey shore.
[Update 12:35 a.m. ET] 1.2 million: That's the number of college students who will stay home Monday, according to a count by CNN's Chandler Friedman of colleges in the regions likely affected by the storm.

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