back to you. >> anna kooiman in staten island. their hands slipped from the mother's grasp. >> she tried to hold on to them as long as she could. >> the top five stories making news at this hour. military trucks will become polling centers in parts of new jersey. they will be parked on regular polling places that lost power. voters will get paper ballots to pull out. they are extending the deadlines for mail in ballots until today. the deadline was tuesday. >> let the whole world watch. that's what lawyers for the five alleged 9-11 conspirators want. they asked leon pineda to offer national television broadcast. this comes less than two weeks after they made the same request to an army judge. prosecutors arguing tv's broadcasts are for gibidden dur a war trial. >> firefighters in kentucky still trying to put out the fire burning at the site of a derailed train. people who live within a mile of the area they remain stranded at shelters while others who live further away have been allowed back home. the blaze started while firefight

that is where anna kooiman is standing by live in battory park. anna?good morning to you heather. good morning to everybody at home. trying to dry out the swamped transportation system. they are sending in crews and equipment from the army and the navy to do just that. an elite army watering team was dispatchd from hurricane katrina to do just that. navy ships are being brought in. here's a perfect reason why. we are standing in front of the brooklyn-battery tunnel. it is absolutely full of water. some of the subways already starting service at 6:00 north of 31st street. 5 and a half million people ride the subway every day. the transportation authority says each day it is closed costs $18 million in revenue. 18,000 flights have been grounded around the globe. it will take days before it is back to normal. new york's three major airports are ex penthed to be open with limited flight. both runways at laguardia are slated to open at 7:00 this morning. traffic has been a mess really through out the city. there is a lack of people being able to use that pub

anna kooiman, thank you.et's get back to the top stories, israelis targets in response to enemy with new capabilities. hamas now has powerful weapons in its hands. more powerful than before. who is supplying those? we'll take a closer look, plus, two helicopters collide mid air. the latest on the crash and the victims. a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis sympto. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. celebrex can be taken with or without food. and it's not a narcotic. you and your doctor should balance the benets with theisks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen, and meloxicam

anna kooiman is live in long beach, new york. the president promised no red tape, but we're hearing it's in droves out there, red tape? >> reporter: yeah, absolutely, harris. these residents certainly are struggling, but we're hearing that in new york, and new jersey, that 150,000 people are still waiting to get warm and get the lights turned back on, but the numbers can be a bit misleading because they don't include tens of thousands of residents whose electrical systems are so waterlogged and corroded by salt water that the crews can't even get in there to try to fix that for them. well, after angry residents protested and angry politicians called for an investigation into the power companies, the long island power authority is contending their workers are repairing just as fast as they can and that 95% of customers do now have power. about 6400 linemen are working, they say, compared with 200 on a normal day. in addition to basic necessities, residents have been telling us they need donations of electrical wiring and equipment

anna kooiman reporting live from staten island, a lot of recovery is going on. thanks, anna.veteran injured in service to our country, getting the ultimate experience, inside the annual wounded warrior sky dive. that's coming up next. . >> i got out of the hospital, i didn't think i would walk right again. [ male announcer ] when it comes to the financial obstacles military families face, we understan at usaa, we know military life is different. we've been there. that's why every bit of financial advice we offer is geared specifically to current and former military members and their families. [ laughs ] dad! dad! [ applause ] ♪ [ male announcer ] life brings obstacles. usaa brings advice. call or visit us online. we're ready to help. tomato, obviously. haha. there's more than that though, there's a kick to it. wahlalalalallala! smooth, but crisp. it's kind of like drinking a food that's a drink, or a drink that's a food, woooooh! [ male announcer ] taste it and describe the indescribable. could've had a v8. introducing the new droid razr maxx hd by motorola. now more than eve

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let's check in with anna kooiman. anna? >> reporter: jon, we're down in battery park. check out the tunnel. there is still 50 feet of water. we'll tell you how the swamped new york city transit system is getting help from the army and navy coming up ♪ atmix of energies.ve the world needs a broader that's why we're supplying natural gas to generate cleaner electricity... that has around 50% fewer co2 emissions than coal. and it's also why, with our partner in brazil, shell is producing ethanol - a biofuel made from renewable sugarcane. >>a minute, mom! let's broaden the world's energy mix. let's go. jenna: right now new york city is slowly, slowly recovering from the devastation of sandy but much of the downtown area in manhattan is still without power. subways still can't run in that area at all. that is leading to this on your screen. hundreds forming a massive line to board buses that are shuttling people from brooklyn into manhattan. the line growing thicker and longer as the buses dwindle. the number of people who needs them seems to be getting bigger. anna kooiman

back to you. >> steve: anna kooiman, lower manhattan, thank you very much.lier. it was reminiscent of when jimmy carter was president of the united states and they had the -- according to your tag number, even days, even numbers would gas up this day. odd numbers, those days. the lines are extraordinary. >> peter: yeah. i'd like to -- the president is promising help and help is really needed in this area. how the federal government is going to assist on this. we need immediate help. really tough. >> gretchen: we want to show you this picture out of the destruction. there is amazing stories. look at this. residents who lost everything in breezy point, queen, new york, raising the american flag. that is the neighborhood that lost over 100 homes in a fire during the hurricane. patriotism still lives. >> steve: it does indeed. we've got other headlines. search underway now for two panthers on the loose in the florida area after hurricane sandy. this photo from the rescue back in 2011 after their mother died. officials say a crashing tree broke open their fence a

anna kooiman explains in this week's fox health fix coming up. >>> a massive manhunt.for a robber using an ak-47 after he strikes again. >> quick headlines for you at this hour. the school getting an f grade in money management. they got 300 million in order to pay their bills. it will go to teacher's sal aris buying books and classrooms. it is not enough to keep all the schools open. 40 of them will be shutting down. bradley manning trying to get a plea deal. manning told the judge he would plead guilty to to leaking documents but he is not ready to plea glelty to more serious espionage charges. >>> we have a roundup of the top medical stories. >> trauma experts look at the emotional impact of tropical storm sandy. it causes flash backs ang gliet and can weaken the immune system. regaining a sense of control is key to overcoming the condition. when it comes to watching your cholesterol doctors say don't put it off. research says teens and young adults need to monitor their levels stind of waiting until it can be more difficult to control. screening for high cholestero

anna kooiman joins us from staten island. you're standing in front of a big pile of trash, it looks like, an anna, which is poem he's belongings. >> tons of trash. it might look like rubble to you and me, but it's the lives of people here. crushed behind me where one of six dumping stations here. we have been watching as the debris has been piling up for nearly two weeks. that nor'easter last week did stall some of the progress. but crews really have been making some headway. volunteer groups have filling the gap. they say the federal government has left behind. we've also seen makeshift donation centers popping up throughout the region. volunteers, they have been going door to door, helping residents and checking up on them. they've been sorting donated goods. they've been delivering supplies and even cleaning up. let's hear of the volunteers. >> my neighbors are hurting. how can you stay home and watch tv? >> they've been trying to help people, but everything is kind of not organized. they try to be helpful, but so far we do

powerball officials say that number could go higher as people rush to the store buying tickets and anna kooiman is live outside the studio and your he' seeing a mad dash. >> you better believe it, here in new york city alone, there are nearly 16,000 lotteries and it's hard to walk up and down the streets without seeing people pick up tickets and hit the streets of manhattan during the busiest shopping season of the year to see what hopeful buyers are hoping to scoop up if they win. >> look at that, i've got the winning ticket. thanks. >> so if you win, you're going to take your kids to disney world and do what else? >> i'll probably buy a nice house on the beach southwest. >> and give 10, $20, like $100 bill and win the ticket and win the jackpot. how come you decide today play today. my co-worker mentioned the price how high it is, i decided why not. >> what would you do if you won? >> i'm not quite sure, anything, and everything. >> big bucks, no whammies got my two bucks and hook it up, hook it up. give me the winning ticket here. >> and this is the winning ticket. good luck. >> sorry, guys,

and anna kooiman is on long island. great to see you. >> reporter: great to see you as well, rick. i was going to say superstorm sandy-- it's actually small business saturday and it's very important this year, more significant than ever because of superstorm sandy. now, the owner of this gift shop here, rumors in long island say that sandy could not have hit at a worst time. during the last three months of the year she gets 40% of her sales and she's going to have a tough time making that up. customers are more concerned about necessities than presents. >> a lot of our customers, the babylon, west side, they're out of their homes and living with relatives and all over the place and they're trying to meet with fema, meet with insurance people, meet with restorers. they have no time to shop. they're busy trying to put their lives back together again. >> well, from staten island to long island, local businesses are urging customers to give back to their local communities and help provide neighborhoods ravaged by the storm. and last year, 100 million people participated in the growing

pitching in here at home in order to help folks recover from devastation of super storm sandy and anna kooiman is in the rockaways in queens, new york, where a lot of veterans have been on the ground since sandy hit. good to see you. >> great to see you as well. we're hearing the city of new york condemned some 200 homes because of safety hazards and this group is trying to save as many houses as they can, working 18 hours a day and work through the nor east that are hit a week and a half ago, through the snow. some 500 volunteers, most of them veterans from the wars in iraq and afghanistan, are focusing on the rockaways portion of queens today. the veterans are using their military training to help bring order to the chaos, removing debris, muck, sand and mold from flooded out homes. they are also offering emotional support. >> the hardest part was when he started moving out mementos from my mother, pictures, her wedding gown, christening outfit i made for my daughter, knickknacks, cards from my mom. she lives in my heart, but i have nothing to remember. nothing left. >> as for the veterans,

tonight, anna kooiman shows us how some members are giving like never before. >> i thank god and thank people of rockaway. everybody came together and we'll pull through this. later, guys. >> take care. >> you always love family and in the storm, everybody became a family. >> and in the wake of superstorm zahn, enough turkey and fixings, to feed a thousand folks in need. in rockaway. >> we have one corn, open, two-- >> in the previous years, fed 600. >> and there's so much need and not enough dollars to go around. the church looks different than it has for the past 18 years, the basement was flooded, and they're running the thanksgiving operation using generator power. >> when you take rockaway and ocean side and bellmore and massapequa. >> there's massive devastation on horrendous levels. >> eric snow was in the dark over a week and had flooding from eight to ten foot storm surge and teaching his kids that volunteering is the reason for the season. >> and it makes you feel good and that i'm able to help other people, because, really, we thought that we were hurt bad, but other people

anna kooiman from long island, new york. >> it's small business saturday, but because of superstorm sandyhe northeast is reeling economically and has more significant for people like the owners of rumors gift shop. and says that sandy could not hit at a worse time because she counts on 40% of her business in come in the last three months of the year and consumers are more concerned about necessities than gifts. >> and the west side slip area, they're out of their homes, they're living with relatives, living all over the place and they're trying to meet with fema, meet with insurance people, meet with restorers, they have no time to shop. they're busy trying to put their lives back together again. >> from staten island to long island, local businesses are urging customers to give back to their local communities and help neighborhoods ravaged by storm. estimated 100 million people participated in the annual event. and in the 50 billion dollar range with about 12 billion in new york city alone and 20 billion of the total is from lost economic activity, for example, airlines canceling flights

anna kooiman is joining us now from rockaways, new york. >> hey there. this volunteer effort is amazing. team "rubicon" has 500 volunteers, most veterans from iraq and afghanistan in the rockaways alone today. they got started about three years ago after the haiti earthquake and it helped dozens of disaster victims over the last three years. in place here in new york before super storm sandy even hit. i want to talk to a homeowner here. mary ann: when you say you rode out the storm, water actually came up to here, almost six feet of water. you've been living in this mess for almost three weeks now. >> yes, we have been. we've been living here. >> what does it mean to you to have these volunteers? you burst into tears as soon as you saw them. >> it's a god send because without them, i'm alone. i live alone here. without them, i would never be able to do this. i would be living with this mold that they're taking out of here and it's making me sick. it's making the animals sick. it's making everyone sick. there is nothing. i am humbled for lack of a better

a anna kooiman is in staten island still realing from sandy and now here comes athena. >> i'm just gladat home. super storm sandy compounding the issues of the nor'easter. the wrath is still evident. there are cars piled on top of one another, boats that slammed into homes after floating away from their dock, all covered with several inches of snow. a foot in some parts of the region. news this morning of a major fire, this after residents in staten island and across the region say they are feeling forgotten. new york governor andrew cuomo cutting loose the state's emergency management director for ordering a crew to leave their post and remove a tree from his very own driveway. steven kerr was making 153,000 grand a year and spent two decades working for new york city emergency management services. early this morning, nearly 293,000 homes and businesses in new york state were without power. another 403,000 in new jersey. airlines canceling at least 1300 flights in and out of new york metropolitan area leading to travel slow downs across the country. today commuters in the northeast wil

anna kooiman is live this morning. you talk about trash being strewn.we're seeing. >> it really does, and the smell. the ordinary, because the trash is starting to pile up as well. you see these boats literally blocking the streets here in this neighborhood that is absolutely ravaged by hurricane sandy. this streetlight has been toppled, a boat is literally crashed into the side of this home. over here, there is a boat on top of a car. we're about 100 feet away from the water. so clearcally these boats got caught in the storm surge and sucked up into this neighborhood. homeland security secretary janet napolitano does plan on touring the area today, but residents and town leaders say aid has been very slow to dom staten island. >> it's very difficult, very difficult, especially to see all the people that lost everything and all the stuff that we see around us. look, it's incredible. >> it has been four or five days since hurricane sandy unleashed her fury here on staten island. the burrough says many people are in shelters and the homes aren't be a lite

anna kooiman is live on babylon, long island and providing a spark, hello, anna. >> reporter: hello, and today is small business saturday and it's a difference this year because of super storm sandy, the northeast is reeling and the owner of rumors gift shop in long island says sandy couldn't have hit at a worst time. she depends on a percent many her sales the last through months of the year, but she's happy that her vendors are allowing her to delay payment. >> i was in tears, actually, over that, because i was a scared. i don't want to lose my credit, my good name, my good reputation so they're sticking by me. >> this business is like your child, isn't it? >> this is my other home. >> and well, from staten island to long island, local businesses are urging customers to give back to their local communities and help provide neighborhoods devastated by the storm. last year on small business saturday, an estimated 100 million people participated in the growing annual event. the economic impact of sandy has been estimated by moody's analytics in the 50 billion dollar range and some is

to anna kooiman on staten island now, anna? >> all right, well, good morning to you, neil. yeah, you mentioned over 169 deaths at least caused by hurricane sandy and 22 of those right here on staten island at least. and as police are saying, those numbers could be going up, as they continue to uncover debris and potentially find more bodies. we're about 300 yards from the ocean or from the water here and i can tell you that there's pretty much not a home in this neighborhood that has not been completely destroyed by hurricane sandy. and residents are hoping for food and for water and for information, now, homeland security secretary janet napolitano did tour the area and promising resources and governor cuomo promising 100 million for relief for the victims of hurricane sandy and this morning, announcing a temporary deployment of gas trucks to try to help with the shortage. but these residents, they are just absolutely desperate neil and i'm joined by a staten island resident. >> good morning, how are you. >> reporter: tell me what it is you've been dealing with because you

anna kooiman is following their efforts and live in the rockaways in queens, new york with the latest>> hello. good evening to you. the same personality traits that prompted these veterans to serve in the military are prompting them o serve the super storm sandy victims now. about 500 volunteers, many of them veterans of the wars in iraq and afghanistan, are focusing on the rockaways area of queens today. they're offering physical labor and also emotional support. since 2009, team rubicon helped in the aftermath of nearly 50 natural disasters and humanitarian crises. the veterans are giving their blood, sweat and tears to remove debris, muck, sand and mold from flooded homes. >> they give by serving the country and then they come to give to me individually. they keep me safe and now they're trying to keep me safe again. it's amazing. it's so cool. >> the homeowner you just heard from burst into tears when the team arrived. she's been alone, cold in the dark and scared of looters for nearly three weeks. she has been told it may be christmas until she has her power restored. one team le

anna kooiman is live in staten island, new york. >> good evening to you.e are at one of six dumping stations here on staten island and a lot of the victims we've talked to say fema has not been doing enough, although fema says 162,000 applications have already come in. >> a lot of people here feel desperate. it's been two weeks do you feel like there is anything you could have done better? >> i'm going to focus what i'm going to get done today and tomorrow. what i get done overt next couple of weeks. >> to register for assistance, call this number, 1-800-621- 1-800-621-3362. $276 million fema says already in the hands of new yorkers. 26 disaster recovery centers or drc's, are in place and they have more coming. food, water, blankets, phone, internet access and information can be found there. reminiscence of 1970s, gas monitoring and police monitoring the gas seems to be helping somewhat. the odd-even license plate calendar dates system was put in place yesterday. volunteers, we've seen them on the ground today sorting donated goods going house to house to

anna kooiman is live in downtown manhattan. what do we expect in the whole process today, anna?rter: martha, i can tell you governor andrew cuomo says the federal government is sending this crews and equipment from the army and the navy. the army sending in an elite unwatering team as they call it. the same crew went down to the gulf coast following hurricane katrina from illinois. they're coming in. also the navy sending in pumps they normally use on ships. take a look behind me. this is the staten island ferry service. the service is currently suspended at the moment indefinitely. this police tape here is, in front of the battery park underpass here because there is 50 feet of water that is still there. now some of the subways did begin limited service as 6:00 this morning. and we can tell you that five 1/2 million people ride in those subways each and every day. governor cuomo has now declared a transportation emergency and says fees for trains, subways and buses will be waved today. the state's metropolitan transportation authority says the system when it is closed costs $18

joining us now from long beach, new york, anna kooiman.able. 60 mile-an-hour winds, already after the terrible damage from hurricane sandy, these people are absolutely devastated. this sand has been taken into the streets. and we've been watching as bulldozes piled it high to try to offer some sort of protection to the area. the boardwalk still a mangled and tangled mess. about 33,000 people live here year round on long beach. they do rely heavily on tourism. they're hoping this thing is back up and running by the summer. in the here and now, all they can think about is trying to stay warm as they brace for this nor'easter. >> you don't have any plumbing, you don't have any power. >> no electric, can't get to the bank. no cell phones. the landlord hasn't been around. we need heat. we need running water. it's sewage water. it's disgusting. i don't know if i'm going to make it anymore. i don't know what to do. i can't do it no more. >> you hear the terrible desperation in their voices. she's not alone. so many people we've talked to around h