We are dealing with a situation that will produce a very explosive development of a very large storm system. And this storm is not just simply a point. This is going to have impacts over a very large area.  

The national weather service is expected to release an update shortly on hurricane Sandy which struck the Bahamas today as it categories two storm. It is blamed in at least 4 deaths in the Carribbean. The Whit House is urging people to hit warnings. 

We are encouraging citizens living along the eastern seaboard to listen to local officials and monitor weather reports in the days ahead. The president asked his team to continue regular briefings on the storm as it progresses northwest. 

White House spokesman Jay Carney speaking to reporters as the Obama campaign picks up the pace less than two weeks to go before the election. President Obama greets supporters in Florida, one of several critical states he's hoping to sway in time for a re-election. And WVSU's Ann T reports GOP nominee Mitt Romney is sticking with Ohio today.  

The importance of Ohio was not lost on the republican presidential candidate as he spoke to an enthusiastic crowd at Cincinnati A space on auto supplier. This is such an opportunity for America, and that's why on November 6th, I'm counting on Ohio to vote for a big change.    

Romney says the changes he will make would create jobs, restore military and medicaid cuts and get the government on track to a balanced budget. He urges the crowd of several thousand to vote early and help convince president Obama's supporters to come to the other side. For NPR news, I'm Ann T in Cincinnati. 

 

One big campaign issue is medicaid. NPR's Julie Rovner reports on a new study that finds growth on the program dropped precipitously over the past year. Every year the Caesar family foundation commissions a survey of every state's medicaid program. This year survey found that medicaid cost rose by an average of 2% in fiscal 2012, down from an average of 10% the year before. That's one of the slowest rates of growth ever recorded. One of the reasons is the slowly recovering economy, which means fewer people eligible for coverage. Another reason is increased efforts by states to control what they spend for the program. But a seperate study commission by the foundation earlier this week found that Mitt Romney's plan for the program would cut spending even more dramatically and could reduce the number of people on the roll by as much as 38 million over ten years.Julie Rovner, NPR news, Washington.

 

At last, check on Wall Street. The Dow is up 6 points at 13,083. This is NPR news.

 

Companies in the US remain cautious about the economy. NPR's Dave Mattlingly reports business investment was weak last month despite of a sharp jump in orders of durable goods. Orders for those long-lasting manufactured goods such as cars and appliances were up nearly 10% in September.That's the sharpest gain in almost three years. 

Scott Brown is a chief economist in Raymond Chains Associates. Well, there was largely transportation story bowing reported sharp drop in orders and *. So this is just rebound to a normal level. Excluding transportation, orders were up just 2%. If you throw out transportation, you are looking at unfilled orders declining. That's typically not a good time for the manufacturing sector. Orders for business machinery and equipment were unchanged. Dave Mettingly, NPR news, Washington.  

       

Whiel some economists are expecting home sales to keep rising. But they are warning the growth will slow during same periods. One reporter from the National Association of Realtors today show September sales rose slightly, but overall, the housing industry has seen a 14.5% increase from a year ago in contracts. 

       

New signs of hiring may be picking up in the US. Labor Department says 20,000 fewer people sought unemployment aid last week, and that pulled down the overall number of weekly applications to a seasonly adjusted 369,000.

 

US stocks are up slightly with Dow gaining 7 at 13,084. NASDAQ up 5 at 2,987. And the S&P 500 up 3 at 1,412. This is NPR.