New Jersey, Hurricane Sandy | featured news

On the day federal money for superstorm Sandy victims' hotel stays were scheduled to run out, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced it would continue paying hotel bills another two weeks, easing the anxiety of thousands of displaced New York and New Jersey residents.

A Missouri man posing as "Secret Santa" is giving away $100,000 this holiday season and spent a day in New Jersey and New York giving away money to people robbed of their belongings or homes by Superstorm Sandy.

...Throughout the week, Gov. Chris Christie and state officials ramped up rhetoric about the need to rebuild the New Jersey shore smarter and stronger in the wake of the storm. But at the same time, an order was signed that temporarily waives permitting requirements, allowing for the immediate reconstruction of the public infrastructure that failed and washed away in the storm’s path.

After swimming to a main road, the emergency room technician hitched a ride to the hospital... The first thing Marsha Hedgepeth did when she moved into her home three years ago was count the steps from the front door to her second-floor apartment, a preparatory measure for future grocery-lugging.

Residents of the Seaside Heights barrier island are frustrated with the lack of access to fix and air out their homes.

Residents in New York and New Jersey on Wednesday braced for the arrival of a nor’easter expected to pelt the region with more rain, high winds and coastal flooding even as the Superstorm Sandy recovery is underway.

Election Day turnout was heavy Tuesday in several storm-ravaged areas in New York and New Jersey, with many voters expressing relief and even elation at being able to vote at all, considering the devastation....

A small earthquake hit northern New Jersey early Monday morning, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The magnitude 2.0 temblor struck at 1:19 a.m. and was centered in Ringwood, N.J., a community that’s still reeling from downed trees and power outages caused by Superstorm Sandy.

With less than a week to go until the presidential elections, state officials in New Jersey are moving ahead with an ambitious plan to let voters in that state have their say on Nov. 6. State election officials will use military trucks and vehicles as makeshift polling stations for the upcoming presidential election, as the state and the rest of the Eastern Seaboard recover from the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Commuters into New York City endured long waits and crowded trains, giving the recovering commuter system a stress test a week after Superstorm Sandy ravaged the New Jersey and New York coast lines....