60M Will Feel Sandy's Wrath

With evacuations in full swing as Hurricane Sandy bears down on the US, officials are predicting big numbers of people will feel her wrath, reports the AP. "We're looking at impact of greater than 50 to 60 million people," says a top NOAA official. A look around at the latest:

• Mitt Romney canceled a full day of campaigning in Virginia today and headed instead to Ohio, reports the New York Times, as President Obama traveled to Florida a day early. Obama in particular faces the challenge of governing during a natural disaster with only 10 days left on the campaign clock. And key swing states Ohio, Virginia, and New Hampshire sit squarely in Sandy's path.

• The New York region is buckling down, reports Newsday, with mandatory evacuations on Fire Island ordered by 2pm today and officials warning that disruptions could last seven to 10 days. "This storm will go down as one of the top 10 in Suffolk County history," says a Long Island official.
• New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority is looking to shut down part or all of the system this evening, reports the Wall Street Journal. "Try to be home or be where you need to be at 7pm, because there is no guarantee of service after that," says MTA's chief.
• Sandy's pending arrival triggered long lines for early voting in Maryland, reports the Baltimore Sun. Waits in many cases ran more than an hour and a half, and Gov. Martin O'Malley has signed a state of emergency that could extend early voting beyond Thursday for weather-related disruptions.

(More hurricane stories.)