applause] >> well thank you mayor lee and let me just say as the federal transit administrator it's great to be in a federal transit city. as many people know a rail connection was promised to the people of union square and chinatown going on two decades. they made that promise because this quarter is the most densely populated quarter in the entire western united states that doesn't have an adequate rail connection and that promise was made because we have the opportunity here to cut the commute for tens of thousands of people everyday in half by this investment. the vast majority of the people don't own a car. they depend on transit. well today through president obama's leadership, secretary lahood leadership, the vision of the leaders on the stage we are here to commit $942 million to fulfill that promise. [applause] >> with the signing of this grant agreement we are taking $942 million paid by california taxpayers and to create jobs now when we need them. we're also using those dollars to improve the quality of life, and as jackie spear pointed out plan for the future and economic prosperity of this whole area. when

we are doing all we can to get transit service up and running and that is a top prirpte in the affected states and cities. the federal transit administration is coordinating efforts to try and get equipment like buses and rail cars in the impacted areas so service can resume as quickly as possible. our federal motor carrier safety administration has issued emergency notice that temporary lifts certain requirements and regulations to make it easier for trucks to provide emergency relief and supplies. these are just some of the actions we're taking and it's just the beginning. all of us at d.o.t. are committed and ready to help restore transportation in the affected states. back to you. >> thank you sir. now let me turn it over to the senior vice president for disaster services at the red cross. >> thank you. good afternoon. as the secretaries have already indicated, this is a very large and extensive storm. the red cross is operational in 16 states, an area as large as europe. it was already pointed out on the extensive sheltering operations taking place across those states. the red cross has activitied more than 200

city. transit systems in new york city and washington, d.c., have been shut down. the federal government is closed. the new york stock exchange is closed. for weather today for the first time in 27 years. and for the very latest on the hurricane's path, let's go right to what mark halperin just described as a national treasure right now, bill karins, our nbc news meteorologist. all right, bill, walk us through -- i know you were saying earlier the storm's taken a little more of a left turn than what was forecast about three hours ago. >> yeah. it's very slight, but it makes a big difference especially for atlantic city, new jersey, long beach island, central jersey. if the storm went right over you, your storm surge would have been less. if it goes south down by wildwood, that means your damage will multiply times worse. let me take you through the time line here. we just made it through our first high tide cycle. we've had major damage up and down the eastern seaboard. now we're headed towards the low tide. the water shouldn't rise any more. so the next event we're watching d

. >> a federal judge has ruled that the transit agency must anti-jihad ads. at least four metro stations throughout the city will carry these ads. hey call on metro riders to jihad. if you recall, last year during we had a similar situation when an atheist group their ads put upper against christmas. e latest ad comes after recent .urmoil in the middle east there was violence over april- israeli film. the american freedom defense initiative, which produces the ads says the group has every right to put up the ads, under amendment, so you will them sometime today. the presidential race, candidates use the road again today. bmi.y will be speaking at >> president obama has another round of fund-raisers in california. details.adley has >> and the stars came out to help president obama. bill clinton and katie perry celebrities on hand at a los angeles fund- , expecting to add $10 to the president's reelection campaign for the event. raisedma and democrats month.llion last t made a joke about debate.luster >> they perform flawlessly night after night. i cannot always say the same. [laughter] >> his rival is on the

cities. right? this is it. >> central subway. >> from washington dc to san francisco we are here to accept brait a federally supported and grass-roots driven transit project that represents access for all to jobs, health care, their families. this is it. >> central subway. >> okay. a little extra. in the national play offs of life itself like buster posy we just hit a grand slam. this is it. >> central subway. >> it's been a long and difficult road towards a new and more inclusive transit system for san francisco neighborhoods, but we shall overcome. am i right? this is it. >> central subway. >> bless the construction workers and those that sacrifice so much -- you know who are you -- that san francisco can move towards a transit for the future and this is it and bless all of you on this wonderful day. thank you. [applause] >> before i invite the final speaker i just wanted to make sure i acknowledge senator mark leno for being here today. thank you very much. big champion for transportation in our state. steve mecher and thank you for being here. ongoing support. got the sf giants hat, yes. mike cureo and thanks for being here and the constructio

federal government to the stock market is shut down. in the calm before the storm. an eerie silence in times square with mass transit across new york city halted. ahead of the hurricane. not just mass transit, bus, light rail, amtrak on the east coast, airlines, the city is for all intents and purposes shut down. >> nothing, nothing going on. the scope of the storm is just incredible. forecasters expect high altitude wind to whip through every state east of the mississippi. and as people prepare now to go days without power, we'll have the best advice for coping with the storm and also, staying safe in the aftermath. >> weep were discussing that. that's the worst part. losing power. you want to take a shower. you want to eat. you want to get out of the house you can't. >> trapped. the worst part for so many. >> can't charge your iphone. >> what will you do? >> little break from sandy. we'll run down the best nfl action of the week. and see how we are doing with our picks and how you are doing with yours. a brief break from the storm coverage. >> speaking of sports. we know on the west coast you are loving life right now. congratulations

disaster areas, making the states eligible for extra federal aid and the storm closed most of the new york city bridges and tunnels as well as the mass transitsaster in the 108 years of the subway system in new york city, took on a lot of flooding yesterday. one big question remains the labor department, is it going to be releasing the october jobs report as scheduled on friday morning? the department of labor is still saying that it will be releasing that jobs report on friday. let's take a look at the futures that are trading but apparently the nasdaq futures are down by about 10 points. >>> overseas in asia it was mixed message here today, you can see the shanghai was up just barely, korea kospi was higher. the nikkei down and hang seng was lower in hong kong. in europe this morning we're watching some green arrows. you can see in germany the dax is up by 0.9%. the ftse up by 0.8% and in france up about 0.25%. ford coming out with earnings of 40 cents a share, ten cents better than the street was expecting. revenue came in just below expectations, but as phil lebeau told us at that point it was very strong numbers that came in, in north a

city rail services are not funded by mass transit. they are administered by a different part of transportation. host: as far as the federalinistration budget request for 2013, here is the breakdown. is about $11 billion total. it is broken down this way, transit, -- try the formula grants, $4.5 billion. what are those? guest: there is a wash -- washington regional agency, or sometimes states receive that money because they have commuter rail. is money that goes automatically and it is money principally to be used for capital investment. it used to be called, and rail modernization. there was a for light rail and heavy rail systems. -- it was for light rail and heavy rail system spirit those -- a and heavy rail systems. those are formula funded as opposed to discretionary fund it. host: and on the chart here, bus and rail minutes, that seems pretty easy to understand. is there anything else we should know? guest: we do not at the federal level support operating subsidies. but in fact, the money goes to maintenance. generally accepted accounting principles, maintenance is considered part of operating expenses. that is eligi