NEWS,13.01.2013

New York declares flu emergency

New York's governor has declared a health emergency over a flu epidemic that has hit more than 19 000 people in the state, and in an exceptional measure cleared pharmacists to immunise infants and children. To try to curb the spread of the potentially lethal virus, Andrew Cuomo said it was critical to suspend, for the next 30 days, a legal restriction under which New York pharmacists can administer flu vaccines only to patients 18 or older. His statement on Saturday came amid a nationwide epidemic expected to last several weeks. "We are experiencing the worst flu season since at least 2009, and influenza activity in New York State is widespread, with cases reported in all 57 counties and all five boroughs of New York City," said Cuomo. Flu vaccines" Therefore, I have directed my administration, the state health department and others to marshal all needed resources to address this public health emergency and remove all barriers to ensure that all New Yorkers - children and adults alike - have access to critically needed flu vaccines. "Already on Wednesday, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino had declared a public-health emergency in the city after local health officials confirmed 700 cases of flu - 10 times the number for the entire flu season last year. So far this season, 20 children have died from the flu, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).While there have been at least 28 747 cases reported across the country, the true figure is likely far higher as many who fall ill do not get tested, it added. Confirmed cases. In New York state alone, 19 128 cases have been confirmed this season, a jump from the total of 4 404 during the 2011-12 flu season. The New York Health Department is launching a large-scale campaign to promote immunisation, using the media, dedicated websites and social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Cuomo urged non-immunised New Yorkers to schedule a flu shot immediately. "It is not too late to get a vaccination," he stressed. He said relatives and caregivers who regularly come into contact with young children or people at high risk should get a shot against the flu virus, which spreads through coughing or sneezing. It poses an increased risk for infants and toddlers under the age of two, people over 50, pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems or chronic medical conditions. Flu strikes every year across the United States, bringing chills, sore throats, fever, coughing, aches and congestion to millions. Older people at risk. The number of annual deaths has ranged from a low of 3 000 to a high of 49 000 since 1976, according to the CDC. Most of those deaths were among people aged 65 and older. Meanwhile, Massachusetts has had 18 flu deaths so far this season, according to the state Department of Public Health. The hospitals in Boston have been overwhelmed. Jim Heffernan, chief of primary care at Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre said the emergency room at his hospital was "overflowing because there aren't enough places to put people. It just snowballs."Spreads like wildfire Last Monday, Beth Israel got 400 more calls than normal to its urgent care hotline, hospital officials said. "We had to open a new unit to accommodate all the patients." hospital spokesperson Kelly Lawman said. Influenza was also rampant in New Jersey."It's here. Big time," said Doctor Thomas Birch, president of the medical staff at Holy Name Medical Centre in Hackensack, New Jersey. "When the virus comes into a community with susceptible individuals, it will literally spread like those wildfires in California that burn everything in their path. "Specialists and government officials urge Americans to protect themselves with flu shots.However, the CDC also acknowledged on Friday that influenza vaccines, on average, are only about 62% effective."There is a growing consensus among the public health communities that we need better influenza vaccines," says Michael Osterholm, director of the Centre for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. "We're operating largely in the 1950s for our flu technology."

Brother says Chavez not in coma

Ailing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is not in a coma and is responding well to cancer treatment in Cuba, making daily progress, his brother said on Saturday. "Reports that the president is in a coma and that the family is discussing ending life support, are totally false," Adan Chavez, governor of the state of Barinas, said in a statement.He "continues to respond well to his medical care and to make daily progress in his recovery. "Chavez has been out of public sight since undergoing surgery in Havana on 11 December, the fourth such operation in the 18 months since his condition was made public. Uncertainty Officials have said the fiery leftist leader is suffering from a severe pulmonary infection that has resulted in a "respiratory insufficiency," fuelling speculation about his prospects for a full recovery  and his political future.The uncertainty surrounding Chavez's condition has rattled Venezuela, the nation with the world's largest proven oil reserves. The government was forced to postpone the president's scheduled inauguration on Thursday, as it became clear that he could not attend. Authorities insist the country's constitution allows Chavez to take the oath of office later on.But the opposition has cried foul, calling for a medical board to review the absent leader's health  a demand rejected by the Supreme Court, which said the delayed swearing-in was constitutional. Support from CubaIn Cuba on Saturday, President Raul Castro voiced his support for the Venezuelan leadership, his government's closest and most critical economic and political ally. Castro made the comments during a meeting with Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro, who arrived in the Cuban capital late on Friday to check on his ailing boss, who had a difficult fourth round of cancer surgery last month. Raul Castro "expressed his confidence in the ability of the Venezuelan people and their institutions to address and overcome any challenge," a government statement said. Satisfaction" Raul and Maduro shared their mutual satisfaction with the emotional demonstration of support for Venezuela and President Chavez on January 10 in Caracas," it added. Two Chavez allies, Argentine President Cristina Kirchner and Peruvian President Ollanta Humala, also arrived in Havana on Friday. "We all hope for a quick recovery," Humala said. Kirchner refused to comment on Chavez's health when asked by reporters, saying it should be left to his family. She did, however, thank retired revolutionary icon Fidel Castro, 86, for hosting a luncheon for her in his home on Friday. Clinging to power Like Chavez, Castro has been sidelined by health problems and rarely appears in public since stepping aside as president of the communist country in 2006.Throughout his illness, first detected in June 2011, Chavez - in power for 14 years - has refused to relinquish the powers of the presidency, even when leaving for Cuba for his latest surgery. The Venezuelan constitution says new elections must be held within 30 days if the president-elect or president dies or is permanently incapacitated, either before he takes office or in the first four years of his six-year term.

Americans feel bite as pay tax rises

 

Americans are beginning to feel the pinch from Washington's decision to embrace austerity measures aimed at bringing down the nation's budget deficit. Paychecks across the country have shrunk over the last week due to higher federal tax rates, and workers are already cutting back on spending, which will drag on the economy this year. In Warren, Rhode Island, Ben DeCastro got his first paycheck on Friday in which taxes on his wages rose by 2 percentage points. That works out to about $30 a week. "You sit back and do the calculation, and that's $30 I'm not going to spend at a restaurant," said DeCastro.He said he worries that people hit by higher taxes will spend less at the chain of furniture stores where he works as a marketing manager. Politicians in Washington made much hubbub last week about a bipartisan deal to soften or postpone some $600bn in scheduled tax hikes and government spending cuts. President Barack Obama said the deal would shield 98% of Americans from a middle-class tax hike. Nevertheless, for most workers, rich and poor alike, taxes went up on December 31 as a temporary payroll tax cut expired. That cut - a 2 percentage point reduction in a levy that funds Social Security - was put in place two years ago to help the economy, which was still smarting from the 2007-09 recession. About 160 million workers pay this tax, and the increase will cost the average worker about $700 a year, according to the Tax Policy Centre, a Washington think tank. "It stinks," said Beverly Renfroe, an accountant for a realty firm in Jackson, Mississippi. "I definitely noticed a decrease. "The pain will trickle through the economy over the next few weeks. Already, the new rate of 6.2% has trimmed paychecks for about half of the 200 000 employees whose paychecks are processed by Advantage Payroll Services, a payroll firm based in Auburn, Maine. Economists estimate the payroll tax hike will reduce household incomes by a collective $125bn this year. Some households could reduce contributions to retirement accounts or other savings, but most are also expected to cut back on spending. That alone could reduce economic growth this year by about 0.6 percentage point, said Michael Feroli, an economist at JPMorgan in New York City. "The headwind to growth should be noticeable," he said. Most mainstream economists say the government should still be trying to stimulate the economy by lowering taxes or raising spending to help bring down the 7.8% jobless rate. Even Federal Reserve Chairperson Ben Bernanke has said Congress could consider short-term stimulus measures if they can be coupled with a plan to tame the deficit over the long run. But a consensus has emerged between Congress and the White House that the federal government should step up the pace at which it cuts the deficit, which ballooned during the recession. That decision is having repercussions across the country. In Bergenfield, New Jersey, Evelyn Weiss Francisco has put off plans to upgrade her cellphone and thinks she might go to fewer music concerts. A director at a public relations firm, she thinks the higher payroll taxes will cost her about $1 000 this year.Some Americans will also pay higher income taxes this year. Congress and Obama let income tax rates rise for households making more than $450 000 a year, a partial repeal of tax cuts put in place under President George W Bush. The wealthy will also pay a new tax to help fund a health insurance reform passed in 2010.These will have a smaller impact on the wider economy because they affect fewer people. But taken together, this year's tax hikes could subtract a full percentage point from growth, Feroli said. Most economists see economic growth of roughly 2% this year, a lacklustre pace held back by the government's austerity measures that is likely to do little to reduce unemployment. Failure to postpone government spending cuts due to begin around March would slow growth more, further frustrating the economic recovery.The blow to the economy from the tax hikes will hurt the most during the first half of the year as people adapt to their smaller paychecks.Consumer spending, which drives more than two thirds of the economy, will likely grow at a mere 1% annual rate in the first quarter, and 1.5% in the second, said Sven Jari Stehn, an economist at Goldman Sachs in New York.Nicki Hagen, who received her first reduced paycheck on January 4 and then another on Friday, estimates the higher taxes will shrink her paychecks by about $10 a week. She has already started holding back from coffee-and-bagel runs made by coworkers at the home improvement company where she works as an office administrator in New York City. She expects a much bigger hit to her family's income when her husband gets his first paycheck for 2013 on Tuesday. The two will then sit down and figure out how to budget their money. They might cut cable channels, or take vacation days when their daughter is out of school to save on babysitter expenses."This is going to affect our lives," she said.

Gadget sales to reach $666bn in 2013

Worldwide spending on devices such as mobile phones, tablets, printers and PCs will reach $666bn in 2013, according to market research firm Gartner. The increase is $50bn less than previously estimated, but is still a 6.3% increase on the 2012 figure. The move to tablets from desktop or laptop computers is playing a role in the rise. "The transition from PC to tablet is running faster than we thought," said Richard Gordon, managing vice president at Gartner. "The tablet market has seen greater price competition from Android devices as well as smaller, low-priced devices in emerging markets. "Long-term, the forecast for worldwide device spending has been reduced as well, with growth from 2012 through 2016 now expected to average 4.5%, down from the previous estimate of 6.4%.Worldwide IT spending in 2013 is projected to be $3.7 trillion, a 4.2% increase on 2012. The lion's share, $1.7 trillion, will be spent on telecommunications services.

China set for rebound in 2013 - survey

China's economy is poised finally to end a long downward trend in 2013, economists polled by AFP say, as the new communist leadership vows to retool the nation's investment-led development model and promote a "happy life" for all. The world's second-largest economy is not expected to return to double-digit growth, but the economists' predictions are a welcome spot of good news in a financial world assailed by the eurozone debt crisis and lacklustre recovery in the United States. After seven consecutive quarters of slowing growth, China's gross domestic product (GDP) will rise by 8.0% in 2013, according to the median forecast of 15 economists surveyed by AFP. The poll also projected 7.7% growth for 2012.The figures would outpace the government's 7.5% growth target for 2012 - but are well below the 9.3% recorded in 2011 and 10.4% in 2010.Maintaining growth is all-important for China's communist leaders, who derive much of their claims to legitimacy from the country's reform-led economic rise, which has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty over the past three decades. The rebound comes as China formally wraps up a once-in-a-decade leadership change in March when Xi Jinping, who was named Communist Party chief in November, takes over as president and Li Keqiang becomes premier in charge of day-to-day administration. Xi, in his first public appearance after being chosen to lead the party, said China's citizens "want their children to have sound growth, have good jobs and lead a more enjoyable life". "To meet their desire for a happy life is our mission. "China's stunning economic transformation has long been fuelled by heavy state investment in railways, airports, bridges and buildings, as well as an emphasis on manufacturing and exports. But it is now trying to promote demand from its own increasingly well-off consumers as the economy's main driver. And the Communist Party says it recognises the need to encompass the have-nots who have failed to share in the boom as a rich-poor gap opens up. The National Bureau of Statistics is due to announce GDP figures for the fourth quarter and the whole of 2012 on Friday. For the final quarter of last year, the median forecast in the AFP survey was 7.8%, up from official third-quarter growth of 7.4% - which was the lowest figure since early 2009."The new leaders themselves would like economic growth to not be slower than 2012... in their first year," Chen Xingdong, a Beijing-based economist with French bank BNP Paribas who is expecting 2013 growth of 8.3%, told AFP.Stronger monthly data during the fourth quarter, including industrial output and retail sales, has fanned optimism the worst is over, as did new single-month highs for imports and exports in December.But the economy still faces challenges such as unresolved structural problems including overcapacity and reliance on investment-driven growth, said Yao Wei, Hong Kong-based economist with Societe Generale. "We can't get over-optimistic over the current recovery," she said. China's economy averaged GDP growth of 10% in the decade to 2010. A slower rate of 7.0% to 8.0% is seen by economists as part of China's natural economic evolution as spending on projects such as transport and utility networks is reined in.But market optimism over China's prospects risks being disappointed if in 2013 "the recovery remains centred on infrastructure and real-estate investment rather than consumption", wrote Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Economics. Some also question how serious the government is about reforming the economy, as well as other challenges it has vowed to pursue, including cracking down on corruption. "The current difficulty we have with the policymakers is that the focus is on changing the perception and hoping that the people believe," said Andy Xie, a Shanghai-based independent economist. "It shows that real change is very hard to do. So you shift to the propaganda department to see if they can do the job."

US snubs platinum coins as debt remedy

The US Treasury Department said on Saturday it will not produce platinum coins as a way of generating $1 trillion in revenue and avoiding a battle in Congress over raising the US debt ceiling. The idea of minting $1 trillion in platinum coins has gained some currency among Democrats in recent days, with Republicans threatening to hold up an increase in the debt ceiling unless deep spending cuts are made. The United States is expected to reach its debt limit in February. "Neither the Treasury Department nor the Federal Reserve believes that the law can or should be used to facilitate the production of platinum coins for the purpose of avoiding an increase in the debt limit," said Treasury spokesperson Anthony Coley in a statement. Congress' refusal in 2011 to raise the debt ceiling unless the White House agreed to large spending cuts brought the United States close to the brink of a debt default and dealt the weak recovery a setback. White House spokesperson Jay Carney said that with the platinum coin question resolved, the pressure is on congressional Republicans now to act to raise the debt ceiling. "Congress can pay its bills or they can fail to act and put the nation into default," he said. "When congressional Republicans played politics with this issue last time, putting us at the edge of default, it was a blow to our economic recovery, causing our nation's credit rating to be downgraded."

NEWS,28.10.2012

US super storm 'big and serious' - Obama

President Barack Obama warned on Sunday that Hurricane Sandy was a "serious and big storm" and called on East Coast residents to heed the orders of state and local officials to protect themselves from its onslaught. Obama, speaking after a briefing at the federal government's storm response center in Washington, said officials had assured him that they had all the resources they needed in place, and he stressed that "it is important for us to respond big and to respond fast" to the hurricane's onslaught. "We're going to cut through red tape and we're not going to get bogged down in a lot of rules," said Obama, who was having to juggle both is re-election bid and his efforts to stay on top of the storm's impact just nine days before Election Day.Obama is warning that the hurricane will be slow-moving and that it will pose additional problemsNew York is bracing itself for the full force of Hurricane Sandy, shutting down public transport systems throughout the city. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has also ordered public schools to close on Monday and mandatory evacuations in some areas. Bloomberg said during a press conference that areas of the city from City Island to Coney Island to Battery Park City were under mandatory evacuation because of approaching Hurricane Sandy. He said that the mandatory evacuation applies to people in Zone A, which covers coastal areas. State of emergencies have been declared in eastern parts of America as the hurricane draws closer. Sandy could have 'brutal impact' Hurricane Sandy could be the biggest storm to hit the United States mainland when it comes ashore on Monday night, bringing strong winds and dangerous flooding to the East Coast from the mid-Atlantic states to New England, forecasters said on Sunday. Sandy could have a brutal impact on major cities in the target zone like Boston, New York, Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, one of the most densely populated regions of the country.New York City's subway, bus and train service will be suspended on Sunday evening, which could bring the country's financial nerve center to a standstill.The major Wall Street exchanges said they planned to open as usual on Monday because they have alternate facilities they can use.The Obama administration estimated it could affect 50 million people, and the storm was already disrupting transportation systems.More than 700 flights, including international ones, were cancelled on Sunday and nearly 2,500 more were cancelled for Monday, FlightAware.com said.Forecasters said Sandy was a rare, hybrid "super storm" created by an Arctic jet stream wrapping itself around a tropical storm, possibly causing up to 12 inches (30 cm) of rain in some areas, as well as heavy snowfall inland."The size of this alone, affecting a heavily populated area, is going to be history making," said Jeff Masters, a hurricane specialist who writes a blog posted on the Weather Underground.New Jersey casinos were ordered to close. New Jersey officials were weighing whether to shut down that state's bus and rail systems, and emergency officials warned of widespread power outages that could last for days."We're just asking people to be patient and be ready for a long haul. But we have a very aggressive power restoration program in place and I think we're ready," Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell told the CNN program "State of the Union."On its current projected track, Sandy is most likely to make landfall between in the New York/New Jersey area and head inland to Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, forecasters said.Exceptionally wide storm Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm's impact would be felt far from the centre.While Sandy's 75 mph (120 kph) winds were not overwhelming for a hurricane, its width made it exceptional. Hurricane-force winds extended 175 miles (280 km) from its center while its lesser tropical storm-force winds spanned 1,040 miles (1,670 km) in diameter. It was not expected to strengthen but was expected to broaden.At high tide, the storm could bring a surge of seawater up to 11 feet (3.4 meters) above normal levels to Long Island Sound and New York Harbor."Given the large wind field associated with Sandy, elevated water levels could span multiple tide cycles, resulting in repeated and extended periods of coastal and bayside flooding," the forecasters said.Sandy was centered about 260 miles (420 km) southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, early on Sunday, the hurricane center said. The storm pushed seawater up over the barrier islands off North Carolina known as the Outer Banks."It's flooded all over the village," longtime Ocracoke Island resident Kathleen O'Neal told Reuters via telephone. "I would say between a foot and two feet of water."Sandy was moving over the Atlantic parallel to the US coast at 10 mph (17 kph), but was forecast to make a tight westward turn toward the US coast on Sunday night.Tropical storm conditions were spreading across the coast of North Carolina on Sunday morning and gale-force winds are forecast to begin affecting Washington, New York and southern New England by Monday.Record breaker Sandy could be the largest storm to hit the United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) website.Sandy killed at least 66 people as it made its way through the Caribbean islands, including 51 in Haiti, mostly from flash flooding and mudslides, according to authorities.The approaching storm forced a change of plans for both presidential candidates ahead of the Nov. 6 election. The White House said President Barack Obama canceled a campaign appearance in Virginia on Monday and another stop in Colorado on Tuesday, and will instead monitor the storm from Washington.Republican challenger Mitt Romney rescheduled campaign events planned for Virginia on Sunday and was flying to Ohio instead.All along the U.S. coast, worried residents packed stores, buying generators, candles, food and other supplies in anticipation of power outages. Some local governments announced schools would be closed on Monday and Tuesday."They're freaking out," said Joe Dautel, a clerk at a hardware store in Glenside, Pennsylvania. "I'm selling people four, five, six packs of batteries - when I had them."

Hurricane Sandy Megastorm: New Jersey, Delaware And More States Scramble Before Storm

Tens of thousands of people were ordered to evacuate coastal areas Sunday as big cities and small towns across the U.S. Northeast braced for the onslaught of a superstorm threatening some 60 million people along the most heavily populated corridor in the nation."The time for preparing and talking is about over," Federal Emergency Management Administrator Craig Fugate warned as a monster Hurricane Sandy headed up the Atlantic Coast on a collision course with two other weather systems. "People need to be acting now."New York City announced its subways, buses and trains would stop running Sunday night, and its 1.1 million-student school system would be closed on Monday. Mayor Michael Bloomberg also ordered the evacuation of part of lower Manhattan and other low-lying neighborhoods."If you don't evacuate, you are not only endangering your life, you are also endangering the lives of the first responders who are going in to rescue you," Bloomberg said. "This is a serious and dangerous storm."Tens of thousands of people along the coast in Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut and other threatened areas were also under orders to clear out because of as much as a foot (30 centimeters) of rain, punishing winds of 80 mph (130 kph), and a potentially deadly tidal surge of 4 to 8 feet (1.2 to 2.4 meters)Sandy was headed north from the Caribbean, where it left at least 65 people dead, mostly in Haiti, and was expected to hook left toward the mid-Atlantic coast and come ashore late Monday or early Tuesday, most likely in New Jersey, colliding with a wintry storm moving in from the west and cold air streaming down from the Arctic.Forecasters warned that the resulting megastorm could wreak havoc over 800 miles (1,300 kilometers)from the East Coast to the Great Lakes. Parts of West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky and North Carolina could get snow 2 feet (60 centimeters) or more in places.The danger was hardly limited to coastal areas, with worried about inland flooding. They also warned that the rain could saturate the ground, causing trees to topple onto power lines and cause blackouts that could last for several days.States of emergency were declared from North Carolina, where gusty winds whipped steady rain on Sunday morning, to Connecticut. Delaware ordered 50,000 people in coastal communities to clear out by 8 p.m. Sunday.Officials in New York City were particularly worried about the possibility of subway flooding. The city closed the subways before Hurricane Irene last year, and a Columbia University study predicted that an Irene surge just 1 foot (30 centimeters) higher would have paralyzed lower Manhattan.Sandy was at Category 1 strength, packing 75 mph (120 kph) winds, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and moving northeast at 14 mph (22.5 kph) as of 11 a.m. (1500 GMT) Sunday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. It was about 575 miles (925 kilometers) south of New York City.The storm was expected to continue moving parallel to the Southeast coast most of the day and approach the coast of the mid-Atlantic states by Monday night, before reaching southern New England later in the week.The storm was so big, however, and the convergence of the three storms so rare, that "we just can't pinpoint who is going to get the worst of it," said Rick Knabb, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami.Bobbie Foote said she would heed an evacuation order Sunday for south Wilmington, Delaware, and would take shelter at her daughter's home in nearby Newark."My daughter insists that I leave this time," said Foote, a 58-year-old fitness coach. It will be the first time she has fled a storm threatening the apartment building that has been her home for at least 40 years in the working-class neighborhood near the Delaware River.Foote said she stayed last year when flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Irene blocked streets at either end of the neighborhood. She said her daughter wouldn't stand for her getting trapped that way again."She said I should never put myself in that predicament where I cannot get in or out of where I live," Foote said.Amtrak began canceling passenger train service Saturday night to parts of the East Coast, including between Washington and New York. Airlines started moving planes out of airports to avoid damage and added Sunday flights out of New York and Washington in preparation for flight cancellations on Monday.The Virginia National Guard was authorized to call up to 500 troops to active duty for debris removal and road-clearing, while homeowners stacked sandbags at their front doors in coastal towns.President Barack Obama was monitoring the storm and working with state and locals governments to make sure they get the resources needed to prepare, administration officials said.In North Carolina's Outer Banks, there was some scattered, minor flooding at daybreak Sunday on the beach road in Nags Head. The bad weather could pick up there later in the day, with the major concerns being rising tides and pounding waves.In New Jersey, hundreds of coastal residents started moving inland.Gov. Chris Christie's emergency declaration will force the shutdown of Atlantic City's 12 casinos for only the fourth time in the 34-year history of legalized gambling there. City officials said they would begin evacuating the gambling hub's 30,000 residents at noon Sunday, busing them to mainland shelters and schools.The storm also forced the presidential campaign to juggle schedules. Romney scrapped plans to campaign Sunday in Virginia and switched his schedule for the day to Ohio. First lady Michelle Obama canceled an appearance in New Hampshire for Tuesday, and Obama moved a planned Monday departure for Florida to Sunday night to beat the storm. He also canceled appearances in Northern Virginia on Monday and Colorado on Tuesday.Witlet Maceno, an emergency room nurse working at New York City's Mount Sinai Hospital, was headed home to Staten Island on Sunday morning after his overnight shift. He said he was going home to check on his parents, visiting from Atlanta, before he returned to work Sunday evening."I'm making sure they're OK, that they have water and food, and that the windows are shut tight," he said. "And I'm going to remove stuff outside that could go flying into the windows" of his street-level apartment.The Weather Channel is calling the storm "one which will occupy a place in the annals of weather history as one of the most extraordinary to have affected the United States." According to TWC meteorologist Stu Ostro, residents in areas that are vulnerable to the storm should take every precaution possible with the "utmost urgency." Here's why it's so bad, Ostro says: A meteorologically mind-boggling combination of ingredients is coming together: one of the largest expanses of tropical storm (gale) force winds on record with a tropical or subtropical cyclone in the Atlantic or for that matter anywhere else in the world; a track of the center making a sharp left turn in direction of movement toward New Jersey in a way that is unprecedented in the historical database, as it gets blocked from moving out to sea by a pattern that includes an exceptionally strong ridge of high pressure aloft near Greenland; a "warm-core" tropical cyclone embedded within a larger, nor'easter-like circulation; and eventually tropical moisture and arctic air combining to produce heavy snow in interior high elevations. This is an extraordinary situation, and I am not prone to hyperbole.As Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Sunday, New York City's public schools the nation's largest public school system will be closed Monday. According to a statement from New York City Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott, the city's 1.1 million students might also be off on Tuesday. "Due to anticipated inclement weather conditions from Hurricane Sandy, all New York City public schools will be closed to students tomorrow, October 29," Walcott said in a statement. "Administrative offices will be open. All after-school activities and Public Schools Athletic League events will also be cancelled. We are asking that school staff and employees assigned to a shelter site to report to their posts. "A determination about whether schools will open on Tuesday will be made tomorrow, so please continue to monitor the news and nyc.gov for updates to the City's preparations and response."Today on CNN's State of the Union with Candy Crowley, Obama campaign senior adviser David Axelrod said that Hurricane Sandy was "a cause of concern" for the campaign. "Obviously we want unfettered access to the polls because we believe that the more people come out, the better we're going to do, and so to the extent that it makes it harder, you know, that's a source of concern," he said. He added that the best thing that President's team can do is "focus on how we can help people during this storm and hope that it all clears out and that by the next weekend we'll be free of it and people can focus on the election." President Barack Obama has spent months trying to balance his re-election bid with running the government. Now, just when his campaign needs him the most, with little more than a week before the election, his official job is beckoning. Republican challenger Mitt Romney, too, faces questions about how to conduct his campaign as a superstorm charges toward the East Coast. But as president, it's Obama who oversees the federal government's preparations for the looming storm and it's Obama who will bear the responsibility for any missteps. With that in mind, Obama scrapped campaign events Monday night and Tuesday morning. He planned to return to the White House late Monday to monitor the storm and the government's response. "This is an example, yet again, of the president having to put his responsibilities as commander in chief and as leader of the country first, while at the same time he pursues his responsibilities as a candidate for re-election," Josh Earnest, a White House spokesman, told reporters traveling with Obama to a campaign event Saturday in New Hampshire.

Superstorm emergency declared in US

Governors from North Carolina to Connecticut declared states of emergency and Delaware ordered mandatory evacuations for coastal communities as Hurricane Sandy lumbered north from the Caribbean  where it left nearly 60 dead  to threaten the eastern US with sheets of rain, high winds and heavy snow.Officials warned millions in coastal areas to get out of the way of the massive storm.Sandy was expected to affect up to 60 million people when it meets two other powerful winter storms. Experts said it didn't matter how strong the storm was when it hit land: The rare hybrid that follows will cause havoc over 1 300km from the East Coast to the Great Lakes.President Barack Obama was monitoring the storm and working with state and locals governments to make sure they get the resources needed to prepare, administration officials said.Craig Fugate, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said the storm was a threat to the region's interior, not just coastal areas: "This is a very large area," he said.New Jersey Governor Chris Christie declared a state of emergency on Saturday as hundreds of coastal residents started moving inland and the state was set to close its casinos. New York's governor was considering shutting down the subways to avoid flooding and half a dozen states warned residents to prepare for several days of lost power.Sandy was at Category 1 strength, packing 120km/h winds, about 418km southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and moving northeast at 16km/h as of 08:00 Sunday, according to the National Hurricane Centre in Miami. It was about 636km south of New York City.The storm was expected to continue moving parallel to the Southeast coast most of the day and approach the coast of the mid-Atlantic states by Monday night, before reaching southern New England later in the week.The storm forced the presidential campaign to juggle schedules. Romney scrapped plans to campaign Sunday in the swing state of Virginia and switched his schedule for the day to Ohio. First lady Michelle Obama cancelled an appearance in New Hampshire for Tuesday, and Obama moved a planned on Monday departure for Florida to Sunday night to beat the storm.In Ship Bottom, just north of Atlantic City, Alice and Giovanni Stockton-Rossini spent Saturday packing clothing in the back yard of their home, a few hundred metres from the ocean on Long Beach Island. Their neighbourhood was under a voluntary evacuation order, but they didn't need to be forced."It's really frightening," Alice Stockton-Rossi said. "But you know how many times they tell you, 'This is it, it's really coming and it's really the big one' and then it turns out not to be? I'm afraid people will tune it out because of all the false alarms before, and the one time you need to take it seriously, you won't. This one might be the one."What makes the storm so dangerous and unusual is that it is coming at the tail end of hurricane season and the beginning of winter storm season, "so it's kind of taking something from both," said Jeff Masters, director of the private service Weather Underground.Masters said the storm could be bigger than the worst East Coast storm on record - the 1938 New England hurricane known as the Long Island Express, which killed nearly 800 people. Experts said to expect high winds over 1 300km and up to 60cm of snow as far inland as West Virginia.The storm was so big, and the convergence of the three storms so rare, that "we just can't pinpoint who is going to get the worst of it," said Rick Knabb, director of the National Hurricane Centre in Miami.Officials are particularly worried about the possibility of subway flooding in New York City, said Uccellini.New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to prepare to shut the city's subways, buses and suburban trains by Sunday, but delayed making a final decision. The city shut the subways down before last year's Hurricane Irene, and a Columbia University study predicted that an Irene surge just 30cm higher would have paralysed lower Manhattan.As the storm swirled away toward the US East Coast, officials in the Caribbean reported that the hurricane cost at least 58 lives in addition to destroying or badly damaging thousands of homes.While Jamaica, Cuba and the Bahamas took direct hits from the storm, the majority of deaths and most extensive damage was in impoverished Haiti. The country's ramshackle housing and denuded hillsides are especially vulnerable to flooding when rains come.Up and down the US East Coast and far inland, officials urged residents and businesses to prepare in big ways and little.The Virginia National Guard was authorized to call up to 500 troops to active duty for debris removal and road-clearing, while homeowners stacked sandbags at their front doors in coastal towns.Utility officials warned rains could saturate the ground, causing trees to topple into power lines, and told residents to prepare for several days at home without power. "We're facing a very real possibility of widespread, prolonged power outages," said Ruth Miller, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.Warren Ellis, who was on an annual fishing pilgrimage on North Carolina's Outer Banks, didn't act fast enough to get home.Ellis' 73-year-old father, Steven, managed to get off uninhabitedPortsmouth Island near Cape Hatteras by ferry Friday. But the son and his 3m camper got stranded when high winds and surf forced state officials to suspend service Saturday."We might not get off here until Tuesday or Wednesday, which doesn't hurt my feelings that much," said Ellis, 44, of Ammissville, Virginia "Because the fishing's going to be really good after this storm."Last year, Hurricane Irene poked a new inlet through the island, cutting the only road off Hatteras Island for about 4 000.In New Jersey, Christie's emergency declaration will force the shutdown of Atlantic City's 12 casinos for only the fourth time in the 34-year history of legalized gambling here. The approach of Hurricane Irene shut down the casinos for three days last August.Atlantic City officials said they would begin evacuating the gambling hub's 30 000 residents at noon Sunday, busing them to mainland shelters and schools.

 

Evacuations, schools close as US super storm bears down

New York is bracing itself for the full force of Hurricane Sandy, closing schools and shutting down public transport systems throughout the city.New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is ordering public schools to close on Monday and has ordered mandatory evacuations in some areas.Bloomberg said during a press conference that areas of the city from City Island to Coney Island to Battery Park City were under mandatory evacuation because of approaching Hurricane Sandy.He said that the mandatory evacuation applies to people in Zone A, which covers coastal areas.State of emergencies have been declared in eastern parts of america as the hurricane draws closer.Hurricane Sandy could be the biggest storm to hit the United States mainland when it comes ashore on Monday night, bringing strong winds and dangerous flooding to the East Coast from the mid-Atlantic states to New England, forecasters said on Sunday.Sandy could have a brutal impact on major cities in the target zone like Boston, New York, Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, one of the most densely populated regions of the country.New York City's subway, bus and train service will be suspended on Sunday evening, which could bring the country's financial nerve center to a standstill.The major Wall Street exchanges said they planned to open as usual on Monday because they have alternate facilities they can use.The Obama administration estimated it could affect 50 million people, and the storm was already disrupting transportation systems.More than 700 flights, including international ones, were cancelled on Sunday and nearly 2,500 more were cancelled for Monday, FlightAware.com said.Forecasters said Sandy was a rare, hybrid "super storm" created by an Arctic jet stream wrapping itself around a tropical storm, possibly causing up to 12 inches (30 cm) of rain in some areas, as well as heavy snowfall inland."The size of this alone, affecting a heavily populated area, is going to be history making," said Jeff Masters, a hurricane specialist who writes a blog posted on the Weather Underground. New Jersey casinos were ordered to close. New Jersey officials were weighing whether to shut down that state's bus and rail systems, and emergency officials warned of widespread power outages that could last for days."We're just asking people to be patient and be ready for a long haul. But we have a very aggressive power restoration program in place and I think we're ready," Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell told the CNN program "State of the Union."On its current projected track, Sandy is most likely to make landfall between in the New York/New Jersey area and head inland to Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, forecasters said.Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm's impact would be felt far from the centre.While Sandy's 75 mph (120 kph) winds were not overwhelming for a hurricane, its width made it exceptional. Hurricane-force winds extended 175 miles (280 km) from its center while its lesser tropical storm-force winds spanned 1,040 miles (1,670 km) in diameter. It was not expected to strengthen but was expected to broaden.At high tide, the storm could bring a surge of seawater up to 11 feet (3.4 meters) above normal levels to Long Island Sound and New York Harbor."Given the large wind field associated with Sandy, elevated water levels could span multiple tide cycles, resulting in repeated and extended periods of coastal and bayside flooding," the forecasters said.Sandy was centered about 260 miles (420 km) southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, early on Sunday, the hurricane center said. The storm pushed seawater up over the barrier islands off North Carolina known as the Outer Banks."It's flooded all over the village," longtime Ocracoke Island resident Kathleen O'Neal told Reuters via telephone. "I would say between a foot and two feet of water."Sandy was moving over the Atlantic parallel to the US coast at 10 mph (17 kph), but was forecast to make a tight westward turn toward the US coast on Sunday night.Tropical storm conditions were spreading across the coast of North Carolina on Sunday morning and gale-force winds are forecast to begin affecting Washington, New York and southern New England by Monday.Sandy could be the largest storm to hit the United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) website.Sandy killed at least 66 people as it made its way through the Caribbean islands, including 51 in Haiti, mostly from flash flooding and mudslides, according to authorities.The approaching storm forced a change of plans for both presidential candidates ahead of the Nov. 6 election. The White House said President Barack Obama canceled a campaign appearance in Virginia on Monday and another stop in Colorado on Tuesday, and will instead monitor the storm from Washington. Republican challenger Mitt Romney rescheduled campaign events planned for Virginia on Sunday and was flying to Ohio instead.All along the U.S. coast, worried residents packed stores, buying generators, candles, food and other supplies in anticipation of power outages. Some local governments announced schools would be closed on Monday and Tuesday."They're freaking out," said Joe Dautel, a clerk at a hardware store in Glenside, Pennsylvania. "I'm selling people four, five, six packs of batteries - when I had them."

Hurricane-force winds lash France

Hurricane-force winds lashed southern France on Sunday, damaging a ferry off Marseille and leading to the disappearance of two people, including a British boy who was out cycling.Winds packing up to 130km/h battered several areas in the south, including the coastal region of Herault, where a 12-year-old British boy and a windsurfer were reported missing since Saturday.Heavy snow in the French Alps meanwhile caused power cuts to more than 50 000 households and created traffic snarls as cars were blocked on roads in a busy weekend leading up to All Saints' Day.The strong winds in the south badly damaged a large ferry owned by the National Corsican Company, the "Napoleon Bonaparte", which crashed against the dock.The flooded vessel, which can carry 2 650 passengers and 708 vehicles, was still tilted on one side in the harbour on Sunday afternoon and was waiting to be "stabilised", Hugues Parant, the prefect of Marseille, told AFP.In the nearby Herault region, the missing British boy's cycle was found and he was thought to have been "swept away" by the strong winds, said Xavier Tarabeux, the prosecutor of the southern port city of Toulon.The boy went missing in the tourist town of Hyeres on Saturday, said its mayor, Jacques Politi. The 12-year-old, whose mother is French, had just arrived with his parents and siblings to spend the holidays.A 26-year-old windsurfer was also missing at a nearby beach. Search operations were on, with police teams and firefighters as well as locals scouring the area, backed up by a helicopter to trace the missing.The winds felled trees and about 5 000 households in the area had no power supplies due to snapped transmission lines.Heavy snow on Sunday blanketed the French Alps and more than 50 000 houses had no electricity, the state power supplier said.Forty cars were blocked in the Alpine Isere region as they were not equipped with snow tyres, officials said. Those stranded overnight were housed in a nearby gymnasium.