It's raining in the Hampton roads area a sprawl of 16 communities including Virginia Beach and Norfolk. It's the 34th largest metro area in the nation and the second most vulnerable to sea level rise behind New Orleans, couple that with the full moon producing high tides. A forecast of heavy rain and winds gusting to 40 miles an hour today. And it's easy to see why many communities will be flooded. But the coast isn't the only the area in jeopardy.  High winds inland could bring trees and power lines down with a cold front heading east. Mountain communities are under a winter storm watch. For NPR News, I'm Sandy Hausman, in Williamsburg, Virginia. 

 

President Obama says Federal Emergency officials are ready for the storm. Speaking at a news conference within the past hour he said it's important to respond big and to respond fast. 

 

In times like this, one of the things that Americans do is we pull together and we help out one another and so there may be elderly populations in your area. Check on you neighbor, check on your friend, make sure that they are prepared. If we do then we are going to get through the storm just fine. But we are going to have to make sure that we are vigilant and vigilant for a couple of days.  

 

The President also called on people to follow evacuation orders.

 

The major presidential campaigns are making some last minute schedule changes to stay out of the way of the storm. With just a little more than a week before election, supporters of both sides also took to the airwaves, reacting to increasingly tight poll numbers. NPR's Arnie Seipel reports much of the focus remains on the crucial swing state of Ohio.

 

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel told CBS that President Obama will carry Ohio in part because of the auto industry bailout and the state's economic rebound. 

 

When the President came into office, the unemployment level of Ohio was north at 10%, today it's at 7%. 

 

Ohio's Republican Governor John Kasich said on NBC that recovery is thanks to policies carried out at the state level.

 

We balanced our budget, we're running $0.5 billion in the rainy-day fund, we've reduced taxes.   

 

Kasich argues that Republican nominee Mitt Romney will do the same for the rest of the country. President Obama holds a small but persistent lead in the Buckeye State, as a sign of how crucial Ohio is in Romney's path to victory. The candidate's spending the day there after having to cancel events in Virginia. Arnie Seipel, NPR News.

 

Syrian warplanes continue to bomb rebel neighborhoods in Damascus today. Activists say fighting also continues in other parts of the country. Both sides had agreed to a four-day ceasefire to observe a Muslim holiday. But the truce was broken shortly after began Friday.

 

This is NPR News.

 

An unmanned spacecraft is expected to land in the Pacific Ocean within the hour, a few hundred miles off the Baja California coast. The Dragon cargo ship is made by SpaceX, a private company and just spent more than two weeks at the International Space Station. It delivered clothes and food to the crew and picked up nearly 2,000 pounds of science experiments and old equipment. 

 

In Major League Baseball, the San Francisco Giants are up three games to none in the World Series. They could eliminate the Detroit Tigers tonight. NPR's Mike Pesca reports the Giants' pitching has been outstanding. 

 

The Tigers were supposed to have a fearsome offense in the middle of a triple crown winner Miguel Cabrera protecting him Prince Fielder. With those to only manage three combined singles, the San Francisco pitching has been dominant. Last night Ryan Vogelsong got the win as the Tigers were once again shut out.  The first time a team has been shut out in back-to-back World Series games since 1966. No American league team has been shut out twice in a row since 1919.  And those infamous black sox teams were on the take. The Tigers' Max Scherzer takes the mound tonight. McCain is the San Francisco starter should come to win, he will be the winning pitcher in all three clenching games for each round of these 2012 playoffs. Mike Pesca, NPR News, Detroit. 

 

The major storm threatening much of the eastern seaboard is playing havoc with sports schedules. NFL Commissioner  Paul Tagliabue was supposed to hold an appeals hearing Tuesday in the New Orleans Saints bounty case. He's canceled of no new dates set.

 

And the Boston Celtics are flying to Miami today and set off tomorrow for their first road trip of the NBA season in an effort to beat the storm.