Obama visits campaign workers, plays bkb
CHICAGO, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama worked off Election Day jitters playing basketball in Chicago as Republican rival Mitt Romney got in some last-minute politicking.
As voters lined up, election challenges already were under way.
Obama, who didn't have to start the day by voting since he participated in early voting last week, surprised campaign workers with a stop at a field office on the South Side early Tuesday.
After leaving the campaign office, the presidential motorcade headed to Chicago's Fairmont Hotel where Obama did several radio and television interviews before heading for Attack Athletics on the West Side to play basketball. Playing with the president were Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Reggie Love, former Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, Scotty Pippen and several others, Giannoulias tweeted.
Romney was greeted by several hundred supporters when he and wife Ann showed up to vote in their hometown of Belmont, Mass.
As they left the Belmont's Beech Street Center, Romney was asked who he selected for president.
"I think you know," he replied, adding he was feeling "very good, very good."
Romney then traveled to Cleveland. He also had a stop in Pittsburgh before returning to Boston to watch election returns.
GOP running mate Rep. Paul Ryan cast his ballot in his hometown of Janesville, Wis.
Vice President Joe Biden lined up at a Delaware high school to cast his vote for re-electing the Obama-Biden ticket, the White House said.
As Biden headed to the voting booth, a poll worker announced, "Now voting, Joe Biden."
Biden was asked by a reporter if this is the last time he'll vote for himself.
"No, I don't think so," he said with a grin.
Biden then headed for Chicago where he was scheduled to spend the night, stopping off in Cleveland on the way. His plane landed next to Romney's at Atlantic Aviation Services at Hopkins International Airport.
Early results from the tiny New Hampshire hamlet of Dixville-Notch reported an even split between Obama and Romney, the first time candidates have tied in that community.
Nor'easter heads to areas ravaged by Sandy
NEW YORK, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- A nor'easter threatening areas ravaged by Hurricane Sandy headed northward along the southeastern U.S. coast, weather forecasters said Tuesday.
The National Weather Service reported that the storm system is expected to keep gainubg latitude and will develop heavy rain and gusty winds.
However, it might be nudged offshore a bit further than previously thought which could lessen its impact.
Another round of coastal flooding for the mid-Atlantic and southern New England is expected Wednesday into Thursday, Accuweather.com reported.
A water rise of 3 to 4 feet above tide level will occur in some areas.
The worst of the coastal flooding and the strongest winds are expected on Wednesday, meteorologists said.
President Barack Obama received a briefing on response and recovery efforts for Sandy Tuesday morning, the White House said.
Fort Hood shooting victims sue feds
WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Family members and survivors of the 2009 shootings at Ford Hood, Texas, are suing the U.S. government for negligence, lawyers for the group said.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court, accuses the Defense Department of avoiding legal and financial responsibility for the deaths of 13 people and the wounding of more than 30 others by referring to the incident as "workplace violence" rather than a terrorist attack, the Austin (Texas) American-Statesman reported Tuesday.
The victims and families charge the U.S. military knew four years before the shootings that army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan was an Islamist extremist who supported jihad, suicide attacks and violence.
They accuse federal agencies of bowing to political correctness in ignoring warning signs regarding Hassan.
Mexican gov't investigating missing women
JUAREZ, Mexico, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Mexican officials have undertaken a campaign to locate 118 women who have disappeared since 1995.
Government officials in the state of Chihuahua are offering an $8,000 reward for information leading to someone's discovery, dead or alive, The El Paso (Texas) Times reported Sunday. Scores of women and even some girls as young as 13 have vanished in Juarez. Some have been found dead but most simply disappeared.
The effort is being undertaken by the Special Prosecution Office for Crimes Against Women, which was established in 1995. The agency aims to get the public involved in solving some of the missing persons cases that have piled up, said Silvia Najera, a spokeswoman for the agency.
Capitol Christmas Tree heads to D.C.
MEEKER, Colo., Nov. 6 (UPI) -- The 73-foot tall 2012 Capitol Christmas Tree has begun its three-week road trip from Colorado to Washington, D.C., officials said.
The tree, an Englemann spruce, was felled in the White River National Forest, near Meeker, Colo., and will be carried by several flatbed trailers as it visits 14 communities in the state, and 13 more along the way to the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, the U.S. Forest Service said.
"Colorado is synonymous with outdoor recreation, and we are honored to provide a gift to the nation that will inspire people to enjoy the outdoors," said Al White, director of the Colorado Tourism Office.
The tree-cutting and the trucking cost about $250,000, said Ken Coffin of the White River National Forest Blanco Ranger District, noting the costs of time, trucks, and specialized labor are underwritten by donations.
