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New Jersey
Snow emergency has been declared in several US states as a storm bringing hurricane-force winds and 36ins of snow barrels down on the north-east.
Non-emergency vehicles have been banned on New York City’s 6,000 miles of roads after 23:00 local time.
“Recognize this as an emergency, this is not business as usual,” said NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Heavy snowfall is forecast from Philadelphia to Maine, falling up to four inches an hour in some areas.
New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts have declared states of emergency and a blizzard warning has been issued for an area inhabited by 20 million people.
5,000 flights in and out of airports along the East Coast cancelled.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo urged commuters to work from home on January 26. He also warned that public transport and major roads could close before evening rush hour.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said state offices would close at lunchtime.
Wind gusts of 75 mph or more are forecast for coastal areas of Massachusetts.
Hurricane-force winds of up to 80 mph (129km/h) will batter Cape Cod, the islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, according to the National Weather Service in Taunton, Massachusetts.
The heaviest snowfall will come in the early hours of Tuesday, with 15 inches expected between 01:00 and 05:00 local time, and 30 inches in total in parts of Massachusetts.
During a Monday afternoon press conference, Mayor Bill de Blasio urged residents to stay out of the way of the 2,300 snowploughs clearing city streets.
“You can’t underestimate this storm,” the city’s mayor said.
“What you are going to see in a few hours in something that is going to hit very hard and very fast.”
Similar bans for non-emergency vehicles will be in effect later this evening for the states of Connecticut and Massachusetts and would be likely in the rest of New York state.
At least 28 million people will face blizzard conditions over the next day and an estimated 50 million people could see more than a foot of snow in the storm.
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A newly released video shows a black man being shot dead by police officers as he stepped out of a car with his hands raised.
Jerame Reid was a passenger in a car pulled over by police in Bridgeton, New Jersey, for going through a stop sign.
Before opening fire, one officer warns his partner about seeing a gun.
The case follows months of protests over the killings of unarmed black men by white police officers in New York and Ferguson, Missouri.
However, one of the two officers involved in the Bridgeton altercation is black.
The newly released footage from a police dashboard camera shows police approach the car and then an officer warning his colleague about seeing a gun in the glove compartment.
An officer shouts at Jerame Reid to show his hands and warns him that: “If you reach for something, you’re going to be… dead.”
After the officer reaches into the car to retrieve what appears on the video to be a handgun, the car door opens and Jerame Reid steps out with his empty hands raised to his shoulders.
At that moment, the two officers fired several shots.
The killing on December 30 has already sparked protests in Bridgeton, a city of about 25,000 people south of Philadelphia.
Both officers have been given leave pending an investigation by the Cumberland County prosecutor’s office.
Activists say they want the prosecutor to transfer the case to the state attorney general.
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A lawyer for Chris Christie’s former ally David Wildstein said the New Jersey governor knew about the closures of local lanes leading to George Washington Bridge to New York City while they were happening.
David Wildstein said he had evidence to show Chris Christie knew about the lane closures, which caused a huge traffic jam at the George Washington Bridge.
Documents suggest the traffic jam was orchestrated by Chris Christie’s aides.
Chris Christie on Friday reiterated he had “no prior knowledge” of the closures.
The scandal has damaged Chris Christie’s standing as a potential candidate for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.
In a letter to the general counsel of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which manages the George Washington Bridge and other bridges and tunnels between the two states, David Wildstein’s lawyer wrote: “Evidence exists… tying Mr. Christie to having knowledge of the lane closures, during the period when the lanes were closed.”
Alan Zegas’ letter described the lane closure as occurring under “the Christie administration’s order”, and said David Wildstein suggested Chris Christie had not spoken truthfully in a January news conference.
David Wildstein said he had evidence to show Chris Christie knew about the lane closures, which caused a huge traffic jam at the George Washington Bridge
Chris Christie said then that he had been “blindsided” by the revelations his aides were involved in the traffic jam.
“I had no knowledge or involvement in this issue, in its planning or execution,” the governor said.
The four-day September traffic jam in the streets of Fort Lee, New Jersey, which sits at the foot of the bridge, is believed to have been orchestrated by Chris Christie’s aides to punish its Democratic mayor for his refusal to endorse the governor in his 2013 re-election campaign.
The traffic jam was caused when workers closed off two local lanes from Fort Lee onto the bridge, ostensibly to conduct a traffic study.
State legislators and federal prosecutors have launched inquiries into the matter, and Chris Christie has pledged to co-operate.
David Wildstein, a high school friend of Chris Christie, was a senior political appointee on the Port Authority until he resigned in December as the probe into the traffic jam began gathering steam.
In January, Chris Christie sacked Bridget Anne Kelly, his deputy chief of staff.
“Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” Bridget Ann Kelly wrote on August 13 to David Wildstein, according to a copy of the email obtained by the news media in January.
“Got it,” David Wildstein replied.
David Wildstein has refused to testify in legislative inquiries into the matter, citing his constitutional protection against self-incrimination.
In a statement released by his office to the news media on Friday, Chris Christie said David Wildstein’s lawyer “confirms what the governor has said all along – he had absolutely no prior knowledge of the lane closures before they happened”.
According to the statement, Chris Christie believed only that a traffic study was under way until he read “otherwise” on the morning of January 8, when his aides’ involvement was revealed in the news media.
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New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will be sworn in for a second term today amid George Washington Bridge scandal and Superstorm Sandy aid.
But the 55th governor of New Jersey has a full schedule of inaugural events.
Chris Christie’s day is scheduled to start with a service at Newark’s New Hope Baptist Church before a swearing in and address in Trenton and an evening party on Ellis Island, a symbolic spot synonymous with the promise of the US. The island where some 12 million immigrants first entered the US is divided between New Jersey and New York, but his party is to be in a hall on the New York side.
Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who was drawn into the controversy surrounding Chris Christie this weekend, is also to be sworn in for her second term.
Chris Christie won re-election in November by a 22-point margin over state Sen. Barbara Buono, a Democrat.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will be sworn in for a second term amid George Washington Bridge scandal and Superstorm Sandy aid
He became a fixture in speculation about who would seek the 2016 presidential nomination with his leadership after Superstorm Sandy slammed into his state in October 2012.
He worked with President Barack Obama and took on Republican members of Congress who were reluctant to approve aid for storm victims, receiving high marks from his constituents and plentiful national attention.
Chris Christie’s reputation has been battered somewhat since revelations this month that a staffer ordered two of three approach lanes to the George Washington Bridge from the town of Fort Lee shut down for four days in September apparently as political retribution against the mayor there, perhaps for not endorsing Christie for re-election.
The US Attorney’s Office and two state legislative committees are now investigating.
Chris Christie has apologized, denied any involvement with or knowledge of the plot and fired a deputy chief of staff at the center of the controversy. But questions have continued.
His administration also faces an allegation from the Democratic mayor of Hoboken that it tied the delivery of Superstorm Sandy aid to the low-lying city of 50,000 across from Manhattan to support for a prime real estate project.
Mayor Dawn Zimmer said that she was told by Kim Guadagno that the ultimatum came directly from Christie. Kim Guadagno strongly denied those claims Monday and described them as “false” and “illogical.”
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Chris Christie’s deputy, Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno, has denied claims that they threatened to withhold disaster funds from Hoboken, a New Jersey city hit by Superstorm Sandy.
New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno told reporters the accusation was “wholly and completely false”.
Hoboken’s mayor alleges she was told her city could lose out on federal money unless she backed a real estate project favored by Governor Chris Christie.
It is the latest claim of corruption to hit the Republican governor.
Chris Christie is often tipped as the party’s top contender to take back the White House in 2016. According to some pollsters, he is one of the only Republicans who could beat Democrat Hillary Clinton, if she decided to run for president.
But communications made public earlier this month suggest Chris Christie’s senior staff orchestrated traffic gridlock in an act of political retaliation against another mayor who refused to endorse the governor’s re-election.
Separately, federal officials are investigating whether Chris Christie misused recovery funds in the wake of Superstorm Sandy to finance an advertising campaign during an election year.
Then on Saturday, Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer said that Lt Gov Kim Guadagno had approached her in a car park in May last year and told her recovery funds would be disbursed to her city on condition she approved a property development by the New York-based Rockefeller Group.
Chris Christie’s deputy, Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno, has denied claims that they threatened to withhold disaster funds from Hoboken
The mayor – who has offered to take a lie-detector test or testify under oath about her claims – recalled Lt Gov Kim Guadagno saying that it was “a direct message from the governor”.
But at Monday morning’s event in Union Beach, New Jersey, Lt Gov Kim Guadagno said that as a victim herself of Superstorm Sandy she found the Hoboken mayor’s allegations “particularly offensive”.
“Mayor Zimmer’s version of our conversation in May of 2013 is not only false but is illogical and does not withstand scrutiny when all of the facts are examined,” she said.
“Any suggestion, any suggestion that Sandy funds were tied to the approval of any project in New Jersey is completely false.”
A spokesman for Chris Christie issued a statement late on Saturday denying the alleged political strong arm tactics.
Hoboken, a low-lying city across the Hudson River from New York City, was inundated with flood waters when Sandy struck in October 2012. Chris Christie’s handling of the recovery effort greatly boosted his popularity.
The city received $342,000 out of an initial $1.8 billion of federal aid distributed by the state, Mayor Dawn Zimmer said. Another rollout of funding is due to disburse $1.4 billion.
The Hoboken mayor said at the weekend that she had decided to speak out now in the hope that her city would not lose out on the second tranche of aid, and because she thought no-one would have believed her beforehand.
The Rockefeller Group has denied the claims, which relate to plans for a 40-storey office tower and commercial development in Hoboken.
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Bruce Springsteen has mocked New Jersey’s embattled governor Chris Christie on the Late Night With Jimmy Fallon show.
Bruce Springsteen joined show host Jimmy Fallon for a duet sending up a scandal embroiling the governor.
It has recently been revealed Chris Christie’s senior staff orchestrated a traffic jam at the foot of a major bridge in an act of apparent political payback.
Bruce Springsteen and Jimmy Fallon sang a parody duet to the tune of Born to Run.
“You got Wall Street masters stuck cheek-to-cheek with blue collar truckers/ and man I really got to take a leak, but I can’t, I’m stuck in Governor Chris Christie’s Fort Lee, New Jersey, traffic jam,” Bruce Springsteen sang.
“Some day governor, I don’t know when, this will all end. But ’til then you’re killing the working man who’s stuck in the Governor Chris Christie Fort Lee, New Jersey, traffic jam,” the two sang in duet.
Bruce Springsteen joined show host Jimmy Fallon for a duet sending up a scandal embroiling Governor Chris Christie
Chris Christie is an avowed Bruce Springsteen fan – he has admitted weeping after receiving a hug from Springsteen, one of the state’s most famous sons, at a 2012 concert.
The parody came just hours after Chris Christie pledged to co-operate with inquiries into the scandal, which has threatened his political future.
“We let down the people we are entrusted to serve,” he said in a major speech on Tuesday, referring obliquely to the row known as “Bridgegate”.
Chris Christie had previously been seen as a top early contender for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.
“I am the governor and I am ultimately responsible for all that happens on my watch – both good and bad,” he said.
Investigations by the New York and New Jersey news media and by Chris Christie’s Democratic political opponents indicate the governor’s top aides ordered the closure of two local lanes from the town of Fort Lee on to the George Washington Bridge, which connects New Jersey to Manhattan, last summer.
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New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will propose a longer school day and extending the school calendar in his State of the State speech Tuesday, as he tries to shift attention away from the bridge scandal which threatens to derail his second term and presidential ambitions.
“Our school calendar is antiquated both educationally and culturally,” Chris Christie said in excerpts of the speech obtained by NBC News before the address.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will propose a longer school day and extending the school calendar in his State of the State speech
“Life in 2014 demands something more for our students. It is time to lengthen both the school day and school year in New Jersey.”
Chris Christie described the proposal as a “key step to improve student outcomes, and boost our competitiveness”.
The State of the State address comes less than a week after the bridge scandal was uncovered. It has swamped Chris Christie’s administration following the release of internal emails and text messages which suggested that the governor’s aides arranged to close lanes on the George Washington Bridge last September.
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New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is being sued by six residents over claims his office created gridlock on to the George Washington Bridge as part of a political vendetta.
The traffic mayhem was allegedly instigated in revenge against a mayor who declined to endorse Chris Christie.
Lawyer Rosemarie Arnold, who filed the lawsuit, said her clients were late for work and one had a panic attack.
State legislators plan to release on Friday nearly 1,000 pages relating to their probe of the incident.
Chris Christie, seen as a potential future Republican presidential candidate, has said he is “embarrassed and humiliated” by the incident and has denied any involvement, blaming “deceitful” staff.
He announced he had fired a top aide on Thursday after documents apparently showing her engineering the traffic problems became public a day earlier.
On September 9, two traffic lanes in the borough of Fort Lee on to the George Washington Bridge, which connects New Jersey to Manhattan, were shut for several days, causing gridlock.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is being sued by six residents over claims his office created gridlock on to the George Washington Bridge as part of a political vendetta
Emails and texts made public on Wednesday appear to link Bridget Anne Kelly, a top Chris Christie aide, to the move.
“Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” Bridget Anne Kelly wrote on August 13 to David Wildstein, a political appointee to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which controls the bridge.
“Got it,” David Wildstein, who has since resigned, replied.
David Wildstein refused to testify on Thursday in a hearing investigating the matter.
The lawsuit filed, which seeks class-action status, calls for unspecified damages for those who were late to work because of the lane closures and lost pay.
The plaintiffs accuse Chris Christie, Bridget Anne Kelly, David Wildstein and the Port Authority of conspiring and committing “acts of official misconduct”, then covering it up with a “fictional traffic study”.
It claims the residents “suffered economic damages” as a result of the delays.
In a lengthy press conference on Thursday, Chris Christie said he was “heartbroken that someone who I permitted to be in that circle of trust for the last five years betrayed my trust”.
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New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has decided to fire his top aide Bridget Anne Kelly, who allegedly orchestrated traffic mayhem to pursue a petty political vendetta.
Chris Christie, who is seen as a potential Republican White House candidate, apologized for the scandal, which he said “embarrassed and humiliated” him.
The gridlock was allegedly engineered to punish a Democratic mayor who did not endorse the governor’s re-election.
Chris Christie denied all knowledge of the scandal and said he was misled.
“I’m embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of some of the people on my team,” Chris Christie said on Thursday morning at the statehouse in the city Trenton.
The governor said repeatedly that he had nothing to do with the “callous and indifferent” lane closures.
“I had no knowledge or involvement in this issue, in its planning or execution,” he said,
“And I am stunned by the abject stupidity that was shown here.”
Chris Christie spoke as the US Attorney’s office for New Jersey opened an inquiry into the lane closures.
Chris Christie fired top aide who allegedly orchestrated traffic mayhem to pursue a petty political vendetta
Emails and texts made public on Wednesday appear to link Bridget Anne Kelly to the closure of traffic lanes feeding to the George Washington Bridge, one of the world’s busiest, in September.
The move caused traffic chaos in the New Jersey borough of Fort Lee, whose mayor declined to back Chris Christie in last autumn’s gubernatorial election.
“Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” Bridget Anne Kelly wrote on August 13 to David Wildstein, a New Jersey political appointee to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which controls the span.
“Got it,” David Wildstein, a childhood friend of Chris Christie, replied.
On September 9, two of three traffic lanes to the bridge – a major crossing to New York City carrying some 300,000 vehicles on a typical day – were shut for several days.
The communications do not suggest that Chris Christie himself directly had anything to do with the lane closures, but they seem to contradict his previous assertions that none of his staff was involved.
Chris Christie and Port Authority officials initially said the decision to close the lanes was part of a traffic study.
On Wednesday evening, Mayor Mark Sokolich said the alleged skulduggery was “appalling”, adding that the ensuing gridlock had put people in danger by holding up emergency vehicles.
“It’s the example of the pettiest and most venomous side of politics,” Mark Sokolich told the Bergen Record newspaper.
Chris Christie postponed a morning event after the emails were released on Wednesday, later issuing a public statement saying he would not tolerate such behavior by his staff.
David Wildstein, who has since resigned, is due to testify under oath on Thursday before a state legislature committee investigating the matter.
Chris Christie has enjoyed high popularity in his home state, particularly after his response to Superstorm Sandy. But commentators are already suggesting the bridge scandal could tarnish his White House prospects.
“Chris in a jam” ran the headline in the New York Post.
Another tabloid, the New York Daily News, took a double swipe at Chris Christie’s weight and rumored political ambitions, writing: “Fat chance now, Chris.”
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Edward Hopper’s painting East Wind Over Weehawken has sold for $40 million, setting an auction record for the US artist.
East Wind Over Weehawken, a Depression era view of New Jersey created in 1934, was sold by Christie’s to an anonymous telephone bidder for almost double its pre-sale estimate.
The previous record was $26.9 million, set in 2009, for his work Hotel Window.
Edward Hopper, who died in 1967, was famed for his depictions of modern American life.
Edward Hopper’s painting East Wind Over Weehawken has sold for $40 million
The realist painter gained widest recognition for his work in oils, but also produced prints and watercolors which encompassed both urban and rural scenes.
East Wind Over Weehawken, which he considered one of his best artworks, was part of the Pennsylvania Museum of the Fine Arts’ collection for more than 60 years.
The proceeds will be used to create a fund for the purchase of new artworks.
The painting depicts a desolate, dark green clapboard house with a “For Sale” sign beside it, reflecting the melancholy of the time.
Republican Chris Christie was easily re-elected governor of New Jersey.
Chris Christie was declared the unofficial winner by the US media just minutes after the polls closed.
“Thank you, New Jersey, for making me the luckiest guy in the world,” he told supporters after his victory.
Chris Christie won 60.5% of the vote, against 38% for Barbara Buono, with 99% of precincts reporting.
Chris Christie was declared the unofficial winner by the US media just minutes after the polls closed
Analysts say Chris Christie’s popularity with voters in Democratic-leaning New Jersey makes him a contender for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, because it could enable him to claim broad political appeal.
Chris Christie was already a popular figure when Superstorm Sandy devastated the state’s coastline a year ago. His response to the storm attracted national attention.
While many in New Jersey support Barbara Buono’s positions, she has had difficulty raising money, even from Democrats, because of her relatively low profile.
The results of Tuesday’s polls could prove an early measure of the parties’ support ahead of the midterm elections of 2014, which will decide the make-up of the House of Representatives, one-third of the Senate, and the governorships in more than half the states.
In Washington, Barack Obama’s Democratic party controls the Senate, while the Republicans hold sway in the House of Representatives.
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US voters are heading to the polls in the first major round of elections since President Barack Obama won a second term one year ago.
In New Jersey and Virginia, voters will pick governors.
New York City is choosing a successor to three-term Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Republican-turned-independent.
Tuesday’s races are seen as an early test of the Republican and Democratic parties’ strengths ahead of next year’s critical congressional elections.
In New York City, Democratic mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio has taken a commanding lead in opinion polls over Republican Joe Lhota, a former senior official in the mayoral administrations of Michael Bloomberg and his predecessor Rudolph Giuliani.
Bill de Blasio, the city’s public advocate, ran Hillary Clinton’s 2000 Senate campaign. He is seen as one of the most liberal mayoral candidates in decades.
Under Michael Bloomberg, Joe Lhota ran the city’s public transport authority. He was lauded for quickly getting the vast subway system running again after a huge storm Sandy flooded swathes of the city last year.
In New Jersey, incumbent Republican Governor Chris Christie is expected to win re-election handily.
US voters are heading to the polls in the first major round of elections since President Barack Obama won a second term one year ago
His Democratic challenger, state Senator Barbara Buono, has struggled to gain traction.
Analysts say Chris Christie’s popularity with voters in Democratic-leaning New Jersey makes him a contender for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, because it could enable him to claim broad political appeal.
Chris Christie, 51, was already a popular figure when Sandy devastated the state’s coastline a year ago. His response to the storm attracted national attention.
He has been campaigning across the state since last week, even as polls suggested he had an advantage of at least 20 points on Barbara Buono.
While many in New Jersey support her positions, she has had difficulty raising money, even from Democrats, because of her relatively low profile.
The Virginia governor race pits Democrat Terry McAuliffe against Republican Ken Cuccinelli.
Terry McAuliffe is a businessman and veteran Democratic party fundraiser. He has close ties to former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, serving as chairman of her 2008 presidential campaign.
Ken Cuccinelli, the Virginia attorney general, has angled for the support of the hardcore conservative Tea Party movement of Republicans.
Terry McAuliffe, who has raised much more money, has sought to link Ken Cuccinelli to last month’s partial shutdown of the federal government, which was brought about by Republicans in Washington DC.
Virginia, long a Republican stronghold, has seen a demographic shift in recent years. Barack Obama, a Democrat, won the state in the last two presidential elections.
The results of Tuesday’s polls could prove an early measure of the parties’ support ahead of the midterm elections of 2014, which will decide the make-up of the House of Representatives, one-third of the Senate, and the governorships in more than half the states.
In Washington, Barack Obama’s Democratic party controls the Senate, while the Republicans hold sway in the House of Representatives.
Now in his second term, Barack Obama will vacate the presidency in 2017.
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As the East Coast tries to get back on its feet after the damage from Hurricane Sandy, New Jersey has announced that residents can vote by email in the upcoming presidential election.
Flooding, damaged roads and power outages have forced many Jerseyites from their homes and the electronic option will allow first responders who are working away from home and those displaced by the storm to cast their ballot.
Hurricane Sandy, that barreled down on New Jersey and New York on October 29, has claimed 110 lives, displaced thousands and left millions without power for days.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and his counterpart in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, have been reviewing how to prepare their respective states for November 6 – while simultaneously trying to restore electricity and access to food and water.
Both states have asked power companies to prioritize electricity to polling stations this coming Tuesday.
New Jersey will allow any state resident that has been displaced by the storm to qualify as an overseas voter, meaning they can submit their ballot by fax or email.
New Jersey residents told they can vote via email as the Northeast scrambles to prepare polling stations after Sandy
Governor Chris Christie also mandated that county clerks open their offices over the weekend to allow early voting and has called for paper ballots to be sent to polling stations still without power.
“Time on your hands? Tired of cleaning stuff up? Go there in person, you’ll get a ballot, you vote and hand it in and you’re done,” Chris Christie said at a press conference, encouraging residents to not let the storm prevent them from exercising their right to vote.
“There’s no reason why anybody shouldn’t vote. We’re going to have a full, fair, transparent, open voting process,” he added.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has tried to address the issue of polling station power availability but told reporters that the Board of Elections has jurisdiction over those centers.
“They have known for six days now that we were going to have some problems and hopefully they had backup plans anyway,” he said, casting some doubt on their preparedness though much of the city will likely have power by next Tuesday.
Many counties in upstate New York are still without power but officials have noted that paper ballots are primarily used, so the power outage should not impact a person’s ability to vote but access to polling stations might be a difficulty for many voters.
After the storm swept through the East Coast, local officials assessed the damage and some actually wondered if the destruction was severe enough to merit the postponement of the presidential election.
But the idea was dismissed given the limited geographic scope of the storm and the monumental impact of rescheduling the decision day for the U.S. Commander in Chief.
Changing the date of a national Election Day, which has never actually occurred before, can only occur by an act of Congress, according to legislation from 1845.
President Barack Obama is visiting the state of New Jersey, to survey the devastation two days after Hurricane Sandy made landfall nearby.
With Republican Governor Chris Christie, he is to meet rescue workers and residents in Atlantic City.
The massive cyclone killed at least 50 people across the north-eastern US and millions are still without power.
Some businesses and services reopened after a two-day forced closure, and Wall Street is trading again.
President Barack Obama has put campaigning on hold for a third day ahead of next Tuesday’s US election, as he directs the federal response to the storm.
Initial estimates suggest the cost of clearing up after the storm could total as much as $30-40 billion.
New Jersey’s Republican governor has lavishly praised the Democratic president for his leadership.
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney cancelled campaign events during the height of the disaster, but was back on the trail on Wednesday in the crucial swing state of Florida.
Across the north-east, 6.2 million homes and businesses are without power because of the storm, says the US Department of Energy.
New York, which is also counting the cost of Sandy’s trail of destruction, is slowly getting on the move again.
Hurricane Sandy brought a record storm surge of almost 14 ft (4.2 m) to central Manhattan, well above the previous record of 10ft during Hurricane Donna in 1960, the National Weather Service said.
The unprecedented water levels brought blackouts across lower Manhattan and other parts of the city.
President Barack Obama is visiting the state of New Jersey, to survey the devastation two days after Hurricane Sandy made landfall nearby
The New York Stock Exchange reopened on Wednesday, albeit on running on generator power. The Nasdaq was also back in business after two days’ closure.
Partial subway service is due to begin running on Thursday in New York City, which was paralyzed by chronic traffic gridlock in Wednesday’s rush hour.
Many bus services have already resumed, and most of the city’s bridges have re-opened.
Flights started arriving at JFK and Newark Liberty airports on Wednesday morning, but the city’s LaGuardia airport remains closed.
In New York City alone, at least 22 people were killed by the storm. Among those who died were:
- Artur Kasprzak, 28, an off-duty police officer who was moving his relatives, including a 15-month-old baby, to the attic of their home in Staten Island. He died in the basement of his home as water flooded in
- Lauren Abraham, 23, caught fire and burned to death after a live wire touched her as she tried to take pictures of a damaged power line outside her house in Queens
- Jessie Streich-Kest, 24, and her friend Jacob Vogelman, 23, were killed by a falling tree as they walked Jessie’s dog, Max, in a Brooklyn park
In all, storm Sandy has claimed some 120 lives, after killing nearly 70 people as it hit the Caribbean.
Impoverished Haiti is facing severe food shortages after 70% of crops were destroyed by the storm, officials said.
Hurricane Sandy’s impact on US, in figures:
- 50+ people killed
- 6.2 million left without power
- 139 mph – highest gust of wind – Mt Washington, New Hampshire
- 12.55 in (31.88 cm) rainfall, Easton, Maryland
- 13.88 feet (4.23 m) storm surge, Lower Manhattan
- 7,000 reports of trees down in NY City
- 29 hospitals lost power in New Jersey
Sources: New York Times, AP
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As crews work to restore transportation services in your area, check here latest information on the status of the area’s transportation systems.
WNYC Transit Tracker | Status of Regional Transportation Systems
Halloween celebrations could be cancelled in New Jersey in the wake of Hurricane Sandy as it was deemed unsafe to go trick or treating.
Governor Chris Christie announced on his Twitter account on Monday night that if the ferocious winds and high waters continued, he would declare it unsafe for residents to take part in celebrations.
Chris Christie said: “If conditions are not safe on Wednesday for Trick or Treating, I will sign an Executive Order rescheduling.”
New Jersey was battered by Storm Sandy as it made landfall in the south of the state with winds of up to 85 mph.
More than 750,000 were left without power in New Jersey with authorities warning residents to stay off wind-swept and flooded roads. Atlantic City’s historic boardwalk had suffered significant damage.
Halloween celebrations could be cancelled in New Jersey in the wake of Hurricane Sandy as it was deemed unsafe to go trick or treating
Public transport, airports and schools remained closed today while rescue workers and power companies waited to assess the extent of the damage as it neared daylight on the East Coast.
Governor Chris Christie had held a press conference at 5:30 p.m. on Monday shortly before Sandy smashed into the coastline. In typically blunt style he said: “For those of you who… decided it was a better idea to wait this out than to evacuate, and for those elected officials who decided to ignore my admonition, this is now your responsibility.”
Chris Christie said Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford erred by allowing people to shelter on the barrier island rather than moving them inland.
He warned those who had not evacuated to take shelter and ride out the storm as rescue operations had been suspended until daylight Tuesday.
The governor had said earlier in the day that those who did not heed evacuation orders were putting themselves and rescue workers in harm’s way, calling them “stupid and selfish”.
Hurricane Sandy was thought to have caused $20 billion of damage and left 17 dead up to now.
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Three people have been shot dead after a gunman walked into a New Jersey Pathmark store and killed two staff members including an 18-year-old girl.
The shooter was an employee of Pathmark and entered the Old Bridge store around 4:00 a.m. with a shotgun and opened fire on staff who were stacking shelves before the scheduled 6:00 a.m. opening.
When police arrived at the store which is 25-miles from New York City they moved the employees to a nearby T.G.I. Friday’s where they were checked out by emergency workers.
Three people have been shot dead after a gunman walked into a New Jersey Pathmark store and killed two staff members including an 18-year-old girl
“This is the worst phone call a mayor can receive,” said the mayor of Old Bridge Owen Henry.
“You can prepare for these things but you can’t prevent them.”
It is unknown how many other people were in the store before the police arrived but several members of staff would have been inside as the Pathmark was preparing to open at 6:00 a.m.
Police said that they received a telephone call around 4:30 a.m. informing them that shots were being fired from inside the supermarket.
According to store employees who fled the scene, the gunman entered into the Pathmark wielding a shotgun and began shooting.
It is not known how the shooter entered the building before opening hours.
The local police have sealed off the area and the case was turned over to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
Witnesses inside said that there were around a dozen staff stacking shelves before opening.
The incident comes just weeks after a series of mass shootings shook the country.
In July, a gunman opened fire in a crowded Colorado movie theater and earlier this month a white supremacist opened fire in a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.
And last week a disgruntled former employee shot his former boss on the streets of New York City before becoming involved in shoot-out with police that left nine bystanders injured.
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Dennis Hennis from New Jersey is making a quick recovery after accidentally shooting a 4-inch (10 cm) nail into his heart.
Dennis Hennis, a 52-year-old self-employed builder, was working on his neighbor’s roof when his nail gun jammed and he tried to clear it.
The nail pierced the right side of his heart and he went into cardiac arrest.
His surgeon credited Dennis Hennis’ recovery to prompt medical attention and knowing that he should not remove the nail himself.
Dennis Hennis told Dr. Michael Rosenbloom that it felt like he had won the lottery.
“I got a new grandson on my birthday on March 23 and a week later I’m almost dead,” Dennis Hennis said.
“Now we can celebrate birthdays together.”
The 4-inch nail pierced the right side of Dennis Hennis’ heart and he went into cardiac arrest
Dennis Hennis was airlifted to trauma centre an hour away in Camden, New Jersey, and went under immediate surgery.
“Imagine there is a nail in the heart and they have to do CPR,” Dr. Michael Rosenbloom said.
“It turns a little puncture wound into a laceration.”
Dennis Hennis expects to be discharged in time to celebrate Easter with his family.
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Due to Saturday snowstorm, which dumped over a foot of snow onto parts of New Jersey and left more than 500,000 residents without power and the streets littered with trees and debris, many schools have decided to close or delay opening on Monday.
Here is the list of schools in New Jersey, by county, that are currently reporting closings or delayed openings on Halloween:
Essex County:
Belleville — Closed
Bloomfield — Closed
Caldwell-West Caldwell — Closed
Caldwell College — Closed
Essex Fells — Closed
Ivy Hill — Newark — Closed
Lincoln — Newark — Closed
Livingston — Closed
Millburn — Closed
North Caldwell — Closed
Nutley — Closed
Park — Newark — Closed
Ridge — Newark — Closed
Seton Hall Prep — closed
Verona — Closed
West Orange — Closed
Wilson Avenue Grades 1-3 — Newark — closed
Due to Saturday snowstorm, which dumped over a foot of snow onto parts of New Jersey and left more than 500,000 residents without power and the streets littered with trees and debris, many schools have decided to close or delay opening on Monday
Somerset County:
Branchburg — Closed
Bridgewater-Raritan — 2-hour Delayed Opening
Union:
Berkley Heights — Closed
Clark — Closed
Cranford — Closed
Mount St. Mary — Watchung — Closed
New Providence — Closed
Scotch Plains-Fanwood — 90-Minute Delayed Opening
Summit — Closed
Morris:
Morris School District — Closed
Chester School District — Closed
Denville Township Schools District — Closed
Harding Township School District — Closed
Mendham Borough Schools District — Closed
Canfield Avenue School District — Closed
Morris Hills Regional District — Closed
Morris Plains District — 90 minute delay
Mountain Lakes School District — Closed
Parsippany — Troy Hills Township School District — Closed
Pequannock Township School District — Closed
Randolph Township School District — Closed
Roxbury School District — Closed
School District of the Chathams — Closed
Washington Township Schools District — Closed
West Morris Regional High Schools District — Closed
County College of Morris — Closed
Drew University — Closed
Hunterdon:
Bethlehem Township School District — Closed
Clinton Township School District — Closed
Delaware Valley Regional High School District — Closed
Flemington-Raritan School District — Closed
High Bridge School District — Closed
Holland Township School District — Closed
Kingwood Township School District — Closed
North Hunterdon — Voorhees Regional High School District — Closed
Union Township School District — Closed
Passaic:
Clifton — Closed
Lakeland Regional High School — Closed
Passaic Valley High School — Delayed opening
Wayne — Closed
West Milford — Closed
Sussex:
Byram — Closed
Warren:
Belvidere — Closed
Hope — Closed
North Warren Regional — Open, but if buses can’t access certain roads, students won’t be marked absent
Bergen:
Allendale — Closed
Bergenfield — Closed
Dumont — Closed
Fair Lawn:
Edison and Radburn schools closed, all others delayed opening
Glen Rock — Closed
Harrington Park — Closed
Hillsdale — Closed
Leonia — Closed
Mahway — Closed
Montvale — Closed
Northern Highlands — Closed
Northvale — Closed
Paramus — Closed
Pascack Regional — Closed
Ramapo Indian Hills High School — Closed
Ridgefield — Closed
Ridgewood — Closed
Teaneck — Closed
Teaneck Community Charter School — Closed
Westwood Regional — Closed
Wyckoff — Closed
Middlesex County:
South Brunswick — Closed
Hurricane Irene hit Atlantic beach of North Carolina and one man was killed outside his home this morning.
The man was hit by a tree limb that blew down while he was walking around his house this morning in a rural area of Nash County, where winds were roaring at more than 60 mph, county Emergency Management Director Brian Brantley told the Associated Press.
Hurricane Irene hit Atlantic Beach, Cape Fear and the Outer Banks of North Carolina with Category 1 winds and rain and made landfall in Nags Head, North Carolina.
Hurricane Irene hit Atlantic Beach, Cape Fear and the Outer Banks of North Carolina with Category 1 winds and rain and made landfall in Nags Head
The center of hurricane hit the coast of North Carolina near Cape Lookout with Category 1-force winds of 85 mph.
Hurricane warnings for the next 48 hours have been issued for North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, coastal Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Until now, eastern North Carolina has already seen three tornadoes in the past few days, and the majority of the state and areas of Maryland and Virginia are under tornado watches through Sunday.
Stacy town, on the coast of North Carolina, is seeing 93 mph wind gusts this morning.
The far end of the fishing pier in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina collapsed overnight.
The 100-foot long pier is still standing, but its end has disappeared into the ocean.
About 200,000 homes in North Carolina are experiencing power outages, according to Power Energy.
Winds up to 85 mph have ripped power lines from their poles, causing many of the shortages.
“Our crews are restoring service as quickly as possible, where it is safe to do so,” Power Energy tweeted.
The hardest hit areas were Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.
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[googlead tip=”patrat_mare”]At least 7 states – North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Delaware and Connecticut – declared emergencies as Hurricane Irene massively advances toward US Eastern Seaboard.
North Carolina is likely to take the first blow, according to officials.
Hurricane Irene advances toward the Eastern Seaboard with 115-mph winds and officials issued a hurricane warning for the entire North Carolina coast to the Virginia border.
New York officials ordered low-lying hospitals and nursing homes to evacuate.
If Hurricane Irene follows its current projected path, it will make landfall along North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Saturday.
Hurricane Irene passed Bahamas (AP photo).
“The Category 3 storm withdrew from the Bahamas late Thursday, traveling north at 14 mph,” the National Hurricane Center said.
[googlead tip=”vertical_mare” aliniat=”dreapta”] Although North Carolina will take the first hit, “the rest of the Eastern Seaboard is well within the path of this storm,” National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read said.
Chris Christie, New Jersey Governor said: “This could be a 100-year event.”
New York City officials said they might have to suspend all mass transit beginning Saturday.
In addition to ordering nursing homes and hospitals in low-lying coastal areas to evacuate ahead of possible flooding, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg advised residents to stay out of parks.
“Because of the high winds that will accompany the storm, we are also urging all New Yorkers, for their own safety, to stay out of parks, where the high winds will increase the danger of downed trees and limbs,” Bloomberg said.
“And incidentally, it’s a good idea to stay out of your own backyard if you have trees there.”
Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial postponed it indefinitely because of the Hurricane Irene.
[googlead tip=”lista_mare” aliniat=”stanga”]More than 50 million people live in the projected path of the storm.
Irene has an outside chance of growing into a Category 4 storm, with sustained winds topping 130 mph. But current forecasts predict it will diminish to Category 2 after pummeling North Carolina, with sustained winds up to 110 mph as it plows into Virginia, Maryland and Delaware.
North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue declared an emergency in all counties east of Interstate 95, about a quarter of the state, and officials set up emergency shelters inland. President Obama declared North Carolina an emergency too, expediting federal help.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency established a depot for food, water, generators, baby formula and other emergency supplies at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, as well as at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey and Westover Air Reserve Base in Massachusetts.
Up to 200,000 tourists and residents are affected by evacuation orders in North Carolina alone, with states to the north rushing to prepare their own evacuation plans. Forecasters said Irene was so big and powerful that severe road flooding and widespread electrical outages were likely, especially in the Northeast, where the ground is saturated from recent rains.
“This is a very dangerous storm,” said Dorothy Toolan of the Dare County Emergency Management office in Manteo, North Carolina, across the Roanoke Sound from Nags Head.
“People really need to take this seriously.”
Hurricane Irene would be the first hurricane to hit the US mainland since Ike devastated the Texas coast in 2008.
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