intervene
.
A state of emergency is in place in southern Florida as a
tropical storm
approaches which forecast is expected to turn into a hurricane by the time it hits land. Thousands of people have already lost power; buildings on the Florida Keys have been
boarded up
; and traffic queues have formed as people leave towards the mainland. Hundreds of flights have been canceled. On Sunday, Florida's Governor Rick Scott spoke about the state's preparations for the storm.
"In the Tampa, the biggest issue right now is the concern is gonna be wind. But around the state, we've got the rain, we've got wind, we've got storm search, and we've got the research tornados."
Earlier, the storm battered eastern Cuba and Haiti where it's reported to have left at least six people dead.
The Republican challenger for the US presidency Mitt Romney has accused President Obama of running a campaign of character
assassination
and divisiveness. Earlier, President Obama accused him of adopting extreme positions on economic and social issues. Here's Zoe Conway.
Mitt Romney said President Obama's campaign had hit a sad new low by trying to link him to controversial comments about abortion made by a Republican candidate for the Senate. The candidate, Todd Akin, had suggested that there is a difference between legitimate and other kinds of rapes. The comments have been widely condemned, and Mitt Romney had repeatedly called for Mr Akin to get out of the race. Governor Romney was also asked about opinion polls that suggest voters don't like him as much as they like President Obama. He said "All I can do is to be who I am."