Congress dodges shutdown after disaster aid fight

A bitterly divided and poll-battered Congress has almost worked its way out of a nasty fight over disaster aid, but only by abruptly abandoning efforts to immediately refill approximately empty federal disaster relief accounts.

Instead, with the administration assuring lawmakers that the direct infusion of $1 billion in disaster money wasn't needed to avoid a cutoff this week, Senate leaders stimulated quickly Monday to jettison the money from a pending Democratic measure and in its place pass bare-bones legislation to avert a government shutdown at week's end.

That measure, approved by the Senate on a 79-12 vote, would keep the government running until mid-November the House appears likely to endorse that measure next week when it proceeds from a weeklong recess in the meantime, a one-week stopgap gauge needed to avoid a government shutdown at midnight Friday appears likely to be adopt in a sparsely attended session Thursday the weeklong gauge would provide a $2.7 billion infusion of disaster money that would make sure federal help continue to flow to wounded of Hurricane Irene and other recent disasters.

Helicopters rush food, water to cut-off Vt. towns

National Guard helicopters rushed food and water Tuesday to a dozen cut-off Vermont town subsequent to the rainy remnants of Hurricane Irene washed out roads and bridges in a deluge that took several people in the landlocked New England state by surprise,"As soon as we can get help, we need help," Liam McKinley said by cellphone from a mountain higher than flood-stricken Rochester, Vt.

Up to 11 inches of rain beginning the weekend storm turned placid streams into churning, brown torrents so as to knocked homes off their foundations, flattened trees and took giant bites out of the asphalt across the countryside at least three people died in Vermont, "I imagine that people are still a little shell-shocked right now there's just a set of disbelief on people's faces, It came through so quickly, and there's so a large amount damage," Gail Devine, director of the Woodstock Recreation Center, said as volunteers stimulated furniture out of the flooded basement and shoveled out thick mud that full the center's two swimming pools.

As crews raced to repair the roads, the National Guard began in the air in supplies to the towns of Cavendish, Granville, Hancock, Killington-Mendon, Marlboro, Pittsfield, Plymouth, Rochester, Stockbridge, Strafford, Stratton and Wardsboro the Guard as well used heavy-duty vehicles to take relief to flood-stricken communities still reachable by road.

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Irene's toll jumps to 40; Vt. towns battle floods

The full determine of Hurricane Irene's fury came into focus Monday as the death toll jumped to 40, New England towns battled epic floods and millions faced the disappointing prospect of several days without electricity.

From North Carolina to Maine, communities clean up and took stock of the uneven and hard-to-predict costs of a tempest that spared the nation's biggest city a nightmare scenario, only to deliver a significant wallop to towns well inland.

In New York City, where people have braced for a disaster-movie scene of water swirling around skyscrapers, the subways and buses were up and running once more in time for the Monday morning commute and to the surprise of several New Yorkers, things went pretty smoothly.

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Hurricane Irene's effects begin being felt in NC

Hurricane Irene's main thrust be still a day away from North Carolina but heightened waves began hitting the state's Outer Banks early Friday since the storm continued trudging toward the East Coast.

Swells from Irene and 6 to 9-foot waves be showing up and winds were expected to begin picking up later in the day, said Hal Austin, a meteorologist by means of the National Weather Service.

Meanwhile, the hurricane warning area was expanded and now covered a big chunk of the East Coast from North Carolina to Sandy Hook, N.J., which be south of New York City a hurricane watch extended still farther north and included Long Island, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, Mass.

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