NPR News

The cleanup effort is underway after superstorm Sandy, and questions are cropping up about the country's aging infrastructure. Henry Gomez reports for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland. He put his questions to President Obama and GOP nominee Mitt Romney well before the storm hit. He speaks with host Michel Martin, as part of NPR's "Solve This" series.

Billboards declaring "Voter Fraud is a Felony" were recently taken down in some urban Ohio and Wisconsin areas. But not before civil rights groups said they could intimidate minority voters and decrease turnout. Host Michel Martin talks with WCPN reporter Brian Bull about the billboards, who paid for them, and concerns about their lasting impact.

Millions of Americans are dealing with the aftermath of Sandy, including the responsibility of comforting children who may not have a frame of reference for the storm. For tips on helping kids cope, host Michel Martin speaks with Suzanne McCabe of Scholastic's classroom magazines. The magazines cover the aftermath of all kinds of disasters.

NPR's librarians are helping us keep track of two sobering statistics about Superstorm Sandy:

As of 6 p.m. ET:

-- According to NPR's count, the death toll remains at 91. The AP count has now moved up to 90.

New York City alone is reporting 37 deaths. New Jersey reported 12 and Maryland 11.

Arkansas voters are about to make history, one way or another.

Democrats have selected as their incoming House leader Darrin Williams, who would serve as the state's first African-American speaker.

But Williams might never get to hold the gavel. Republicans believe they have a good shot at taking control of the Arkansas House — and Senate — for the first time since 1874.

The campaign calm after the storm is about to end.

Both President Obama and his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, will be out stumping for votes today. The race for the White House, which was just about put on hold as Superstorm Sandy bore down on the East Coast and then roared ashore, is back on with just five days to go before Election Day.

Romney will be in Virginia. The president will be in Wisconsin, Colorado and Nevada.

Life is no where near back to normal in New Jersey, New York City and surrounding areas that were punched hard by Superstorm Sandy, and it won't be for days if not weeks.

But on Morning Edition, NPR correspondents in Manhattan, Queens, Newark, N.J., and Stamford, Conn., were reporting that:

-- Limited subway service has been restored in Manhattan.

Russia's parliament has approved an expanded legal definition of high treason, prompting accusations that President Vladimir Putin's government wants to further crack down on opponents.

Supporters say the proposed changes bring Russia's law up-to-date and will help the country's security service counter modern forms of spying and interference by foreign governments.

Opponents, including human rights groups, say the bill's language has been made so vague that it could potentially be used to punish almost any Russian who has contacts with foreigners

Public health officials are warning that people in areas devastated by Superstorm Sandy face many risks in the aftermath and are urging people to protect themselves from health threats in the water, air and even their refrigerators.

As millions of people try to put their lives back together, the most obvious threat is the floodwaters themselves. In many places, the water could be a toxic stew.

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne. A coffee chain in Britain surveyed its customers and found 70 percent suffered coffee confusion. So the chain is now offering a new trial menu in plain English. A latte is now really, really milky coffee, a cappuccino - frothy coffee, and a mocha -chocolate flavored coffee. Not listed: a decaf soy triple tall latte, though some baristas might just call that - Why Bother. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.

Suspected smugglers wanted to take their SUV across the U.S.-Mexico border, so they built ramps that would take it over the Arizona border fence. But unlike the way it would've happened in old episodes of The Dukes of Hazzard, the Jeep got stuck on top of the fence.