US Superstorm Threat Launches Mass Evacuations

Forget distinctions like tropical storm or hurricane. Don't get fixated on a particular track. Wherever it hits, the rare behemoth storm inexorably gathering in the eastern U.S. will afflict a third of the country with sheets of rain, high winds and heavy snow, say officials who warned millions in coastal areas to get out of the way.

"We're looking at impact of greater than 50 to 60 million people," said Louis Uccellini, head of environmental prediction for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

As Hurricane Sandy barreled north from the Caribbean ' where it left nearly five dozen dead ' to meet two other powerful winter storms, experts said it didn't matter how strong the storm was when it hit land: The rare hybrid storm that follows will cause havoc over 800 miles from the East Coast to the Great Lakes.

"This is not a coastal threat alone," said Craig Fugate, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. "This is a very large area."

President Barack Obama was monitoring the storm and working with state and locals governments to make sure they get the resources needed to prepare, administration officials said.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie declared a state of emergency Saturday as hundreds of coastal residents started moving inland and the state was set to close its casinos. New York's governor was considering shutting down the subways to avoid flooding and half a dozen states warned residents to prepare for several days of lost power.

Sandy weakened briefly to a tropical storm Saturday but was soon back up to Category 1 strength, packing 75 mph winds. It was about 275 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., and moving northeast at 14 mph as of 2 a.m. Sunday. Forecasters said the storm was spreading tropical storm conditions across the coastline of North Carolina, and they were expected to move up the mid-Atlantic coastline late Sunday. Experts said the storm was most likely to hit the southern New Jersey coastline by late Monday or early Tuesday.

Governors from North Carolina, where heavy rain was expected Sunday, to Connecticut declared states of emergency. Delaware ordered mandatory evacuations for coastal communities by 8 p.m. Sunday.

Christie, who was widely criticized for not interrupting a family vacation in Florida while a snowstorm pummeled the state in 2010, broke off campaigning for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in North Carolina on Friday to return home.

"I can be as cynical as anyone," Christie said in a bit of understatement Saturday. "But when the storm comes, if it's as bad as they're predicting, you're going to wish you weren't as cynical as you otherwise might have been."

The storm forced the presidential campaign to juggle schedules. Romney scrapped plans to campaign Sunday in the swing state of Virginia and switched his schedule for the day to Ohio. First lady Michelle Obama canceled an appearance in New Hampshire for Tuesday, and Obama moved a planned Monday departure for Florida to Sunday night to beat the storm. He canceled appearances in Northern Virginia on Monday and Colorado on Tuesday.

In Ship Bottom, just north of Atlantic City, Alice and Giovanni Stockton-Rossini spent Saturday packing clothing in the backyard of their home, a few hundred yards from the ocean on Long Beach Island. Their neighborhood was under a voluntary evacuation order, but they didn't need to be forced.

DA: Friend Planned $50K Kidnapping, but Baby Died

A family friend hoped to hold a baby girl hostage to get $50,000 from her software-engineer parents but instead killed her and her grandmother in a botched kidnapping, according to police in a Philadelphia suburb.

Raghunandan "Raghu" Yandamuri, 26, knew the infant's parents both had good jobs, and he crafted a ransom note threatening to kill their daughter if they did not leave the money at a local supermarket, police said in an affidavit filed Friday.

"It's up to you to decide, do you want your 1-year-old or five months of your income?" the lengthy, typed note said.

The plot unraveled when he dropped the baby as he juggled her and a kitchen knife and struggled with her paternal grandmother, who was watching 10-month-old Saanvi Venna on Monday during a six-month visit from India, the affidavit said.

The grandmother, 61-year-old Satyavathi Venna, was fatally stabbed and suffered defensive wounds. The suspect told police he put a handkerchief in the baby's mouth to quiet her, then wrapped a towel around her head and put her in a suitcase when he left the sixth-floor apartment, according to the affidavit.

The ransom note called the parents by their family nicknames, leading police to focus on friends and acquaintances, Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Ferman said. The parents were never again contacted for money as the search for the missing infant stretched through the week.

"We had been hopeful that Saanvi was still alive," Ferman said Friday. "Tragically, that is not the case."

Authorities instead found the infant in a bloody white dress beneath a bench near the sauna of the fitness center at the sprawling apartment complex where Yandamuri and the victims lived.

Yandamuri had been interviewed Thursday as police canvassed the family's friends. He told police that he had printed nearly 200 missing-child posters at work, distributed them and attended a vigil for the baby. But he later detailed the botched crime to police and said he had stolen jewelry, some of which he threw in the nearby Schuylkill River, the affidavit said.

A throng of people jeered at him, shouting "Hang him!" and other taunts, as he was led into court Friday afternoon in a bulletproof vest.

Yandamuri was being held without bail on two counts of murder, kidnapping, robbery and other charges pending a preliminary hearing set next week. He does not have a lawyer and did not enter a plea at a brief arraignment Friday. He told a judge he is not a U.S. citizen and was given time to make a private call to the Indian consulate.

The baby's father, Venkata Konda Siva Venna, and mother, Chenchu Latha Punuru, moved to the United States from India in February 2007 and moved into the apartment in June. Satyavathi Venna arrived from India in July and was scheduled to return home in January.

She opened the door to Yandamuri on Monday morning to see he was armed with a kitchen knife, authorities said. She retreated to the kitchen, while he picked up the baby from the couch, the affidavit said.

Benghazi: Obama Begs Off Answering Whether Americans Were Denied Help

In an interview with a Denver TV reporter Friday, President Obama twice refused to answer questions as to whether the Americans under siege in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012, were denied requests for help, saying he's waiting for the results of investigations before making any conclusions about what went wrong.

After being asked about possible denials of requests for aid, and whether it's fair to tell Americans that what happened is under investigation and won't be released until after the election, the president said, 'the election has nothing to do with four brave Americans getting killed and us wanting to find out exactly what happened. These are folks who served under me who I had sent to some very dangerous places. Nobody wants to find out more what happened than I do.'

President Obama told KUSA-TV's Kyle Clarke large that 'we want to make sure we get it right, particularly because I have made a commitment to the families impacted as well as to the American people, we're going to bring those folks to justice. So, we're going to gather all the facts, find out exactly what happened, and make sure that it doesn't happen again but we're also going to make sure that we bring to justice those who carried out these attacks.'

Clark pressed again.

'Were they denied requests for help during the attack?' he asked.

'Well, we are finding out exactly what happened,' the president again said. 'I can tell you, as I've said over the last couple of months since this happened, the minute I found out what was happening, I gave three very clear directives. Number one, make sure that we are securing our personnel and doing whatever we need to. Number two, we're going to investigate exactly what happened so that it doesn't happen again. Number three, find out who did this so we can bring them to justice. And I guarantee you that everyone in the state department, our military, the CIA, you name it, had number one priority making sure that people were safe. These were our folks and we're going to find out exactly what happened, but what we're also going to do it make sure that we are identifying those who carried out these terrible attacks.'

Earlier today, Fox News' Jennifer Griffin reported that CIA agents in the second U.S. compound in Benghazi were denied requests for help.

In response, CIA spokesperson Jennifer Youngblood said, 'We can say with confidence that the Agency reacted quickly to aid our colleagues during that terrible evening in Benghazi. Moreover, no one at any level in the CIA told anybody not to help those in need; claims to the contrary are simply inaccurate. In fact, it is important to remember how many lives were saved by courageous Americans who put their own safety at risk that night-and that some of those selfless Americans gave their lives in the effort to rescue their comrades.'

-Jake Tapper

Approaching Megastorm Threatens East Coast

Douglas Jumper choked up as he described the long, slow recovery in his central Pennsylvania town from last year's historic flooding caused by Hurricane Irene and the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee ' and contemplated the possibility of yet more damage from an approaching storm.

"I'm tired. I am tired," Jumper, who turned 58 on Saturday, said through tears. "We don't need this again."

Jumper's town of Bloomsburg, and much of the Eastern Seaboard, was in the path of a rare behemoth storm barreling north from the Caribbean. Hurricane Sandy ' upgraded again Saturday just hours after forecasters said it had weakened to a tropical storm ' was expected to make landfall early Tuesday near the Delaware coast, then hit two winter weather systems as it moves inland. That is expected to create a hybrid monster storm that could bring nearly a foot of rain, high winds and up to 2 feet of snow.

Experts said the storm could be wider and stronger than Irene, which caused more than $15 billion in damage, and could rival the worst East Coast storm on record. On Saturday morning, forecasters said hurricane-force winds of 75 mph could be felt 100 miles away from the storm's center.

Jumper's first floor took on nearly 5 feet of water last year, and he was busy Friday moving items from his wood shop to higher ground. Across the street, Patrick and Heather Peters pulled into the driveway with a kerosene heater, 12 gallons of water, paper plates, batteries, flashlights and the last lantern on Wal-Mart's shelf.

"I'm not screwing around this time," Heather Peters said.

Up and down the coast, people were cautioned to be prepared for days without electricity. Jersey Shore beach towns began issuing voluntary evacuations and protecting boardwalks. Atlantic City casinos made contingency plans to close, and officials advised residents of flood-prone areas to stay with family or be ready to leave. Several governors declared states of emergency. Airlines said to expect cancellations and waived change fees for passengers who want to reschedule.

"Be forewarned," Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. "Assume that you will be in the midst of flooding conditions, the likes of which you may not have seen at any of the major storms that have occurred over the last 30 years."

At a Home Depot in Freeport, on New York's Long Island, Bob Notheis bought sawhorses to put his furniture on inside his home.

"I'm just worried about how bad it's going to be with the tidal surge," he said. "Irene was kind of rough on me and I'm just trying to prepare."

After Irene left millions without power, utilities were taking no chances and were lining up extra crews and tree-trimmers. Wind threatened to topple power lines, and trees that still have leaves could be weighed down by snow and fall over if the weight becomes too much.

New York City began precautions for an ominous but still uncertain forecast. No decision had been made on whether any of the city's public transportation outlets would be shut, despite predictions that a sudden shift of the storm's path could cause a surge of 3 to 6 feet in the subways.

The subway system was completely shuttered during Irene, the first such shutdown ever for weather-related reasons. Irene largely missed the city, but struck other areas hard.

Mourdock Rape Remark: GOP on Defense

Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock became the latest Republican to stir up controversy ' and potential trouble for the Romney campaign ' when he said during a debate that "even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that is something that God intended to happen."

Mourdock, a tea party-backed conservative Republican, unseated longtime Sen. Richard Lugar after a heated primary campaign. On Sunday, with his general election race tightening, he received Mitt Romney's official support. Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch is the only other candidate Romney has appeared on camera to endorse.

"With so much at stake, I hope you'll join me in supporting Richard Mourdock for U.S. Senate," Romney says in the new web video.

CLICK here to read about President Obama's 48-Hour 'Marathon Extravaganza'

Mourdock made his controversial remarks during a debate with with Rep. Joe Donnelly, a three-term congressman who is also anti-abortion, on Tuesday night. By early this morning, the Democratic National Committee had already edited the Romney endorsement video to include Mourdock's comments from the night before.

Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said the candidate "disagrees with Richard Mourdock, and Mr.Mourdock's comments do not reflect Gov. Romney's views." The campaign, though, has no plans to ask him to take down the spot featuring Romney's endorsement.

The Republican presidential nominee supports abortion in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the woman is in danger. His running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, does not support an exception, and has so far remained silent, referring reporters to the campaign's official statements.

Get more pure politics at ABCNews.com/Politics and a lighter take on the news at OTUSNews.com

This morning, Mourdock tried to put his comment into a less stark context.

"God creates life, and that was my point," he said in a press release. "God does not want rape, and by no means was I suggesting that he does. Rape is a horrible thing, and for anyone to twist my words otherwise is absurd and sick."

At a news conference later he said that his words were "mistook and twisted," and that the uproar is symptomatic of "what's wrong with Washington."

"I believe God controls the universe," Mourdoch told reporters, who asked if he thought pregnancies resulting from rape were God's plan. "I don't believe biology works in an uncontrolled fashion."

New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, a popular Republican, has cancelled plans to campaign with Mourdock, who told reporters he had suggested to Ayotte that she put off the trip. Massachusetts Republican Sen. Scott Brown, up for re-election now in the Bay State, has also spoken out against Mourdock.

Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki called Mourdock's words "outrageous and demeaning to women," then sought to tie them to Romney, whom she said would work with a Republican Congress to promote the idea "that women should not be able to make choices about their own health care."

DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz used the same language to condemn Mourdock's statement, calling it "outrageous and demeaning to women."

"Unfortunately, they've become part and parcel of the modern Republican Party's platform toward women's health, as Congressional Republicans like Paul Ryan have worked to outlaw all abortions and even narrow the definition of rape," Wasserman Schultz said.

The anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List group backed Murdoch's characterization and has affirmed its support for his candidacy in an email that accuses his opponent, Rep. Joe Donnelly, of twisting the Republican's words.

"Richard Mourdock said that life is always a gift from God, and we couldn't agree more," SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser wrote this morning. "To report his statement as an endorsement of rape is either willfully ignorant or malicious."

Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the chairman of the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee also joined the chorus defending Mourdock.

"Richard and I, along with millions of Americans ' including even [Democratic opponent] Joe Donnelly ' believe that life is a gift from God," Cornyn said. "To try and construe his words as anything other than a restatement of that belief is irresponsible and ridiculous. In fact, rather than condemning him for his position, as some in his party have when it's come to Republicans, I commend Congressman Donnelly for his support of life."

Student Arrested in Jessica Ridgeway Murder

A community college student has been arrested for the abduction, murder and dismemberment of 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway, Colorado police said today.

Austin Reed Sigg, 17, was arrested on suspicion of two counts of first degree murder, one count of second degree kidnapping and two counts of criminal attempts. Authorities expect he will be formally charged this week.

Sigg is a student at Arapahoe Community College, according to his arrest report.

"Law enforcement received the major break in the Jessica Ridgeway investigation they have been hoping for," the Westminster Police said today. "Late Tuesday evening police received a call that led them to a home near the Ketner Lake Open Space."

After Sigg was contacted in relation to Ridgeway's case, he was handcuffed and taken to the Westminster Police Department for interviewing and booking. He was "cooperative," according to the police report.

The teenager was later taken to Mountain View Detention Facility.

The charges against Sigg are for Ridgeway's death and for the attempted abduction of a jogger in May 2012.

"We notified the Ridgeway family this morning of this arrest and we hope and pray this arrest gives them some measure of closure in dealing with this horrible tragedy and loss they have suffered," Westminster Police Chief Lee Birk said at a news conference today.

Authorities said they could not release much information since Sigg is a juvenile and the affidavits in the case have been sealed under court order.

A woman who said she is Austin Sigg's aunt--reached by phone at Sigg's home number by ABC News--claimed the 17-year-old turned himself in to police.

Police would not comment on the claim at the news conference.

"It certainly was a collaborative effort non-stop, all day and night, but justice for Jessica is a process and this is the beginning of that," Jefferson County District Attorney Scott Storey said.

Sigg is expected to make his first court appearance on Thursday at 8 a.m. in Jefferson County Court.

Jessica Ridgeway vanished on Oct. 5 when she left for school. The fifth-grader never showed up at a nearby park where she was supposed to meet friends for the one-mile walk to her elementary school.

After an extensive search of the area, including knocking on doors and FBI road blocks, Jessica's dismembered body was found on Oct. 10 in an Arvada, Colo., park, miles from where she was abducted.

On Tuesday, authorities said there was a "definitive link" between Ridgeway's case and the attempted abduction of a jogger.

On May 28, at around 1:15 p.m., a 22-year-old woman was running on a trail around Ketner Lake when she said a man tried to grab her from behind, police said. The woman said he tried to put a rag over her mouth that had a chemical smell. She was able to get away and call 911.

WH Pressured on Benghazi Emails

After the White House and State Department downplayed the significance of email alerts sent to national security officials in real-time during the assault on a U.S. consulate in Benghazi last month, top congressional Republicans are pouncing on the email alerts, one of which suggested a known terrorist group claimed credit for the attack in its immediate aftermath.

In light of the emails, Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire teamed up today to write a letter to question President Obama why his administration "consistently described the attack for days afterward as a spontaneous response to an anti-Islam video."

"These emails make clear that your administration knew within two hours of the attack that it was a terrorist act and that Ansar al-Sharia, a Libyan militant group with links to al Qaeda, had claimed responsibility for it," the trio wrote. "This latest revelation only adds to the confusion surrounding what you and your administration knew about the attacks in Benghazi, when you knew it, and why you responded to those tragic events in the ways that you did."

In a separate statement, Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, said the email alerts "undermine any administration claim to have ever believed in good faith that our ambassador and three other American officials were murdered in a 'spontaneous reaction' to a film trailer posted on the Internet.

"I again call upon President Obama to release any intelligence reporting which led his administration to characterize the firebombing of our consulate and the assassination of our ambassador as a spontaneous demonstration against a movie clip," King wrote. "The White House should also release the intelligence analyses which finally convinced them that this was a terrorist attack."

Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., the chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, also questioned what the White House and State Department initially knew.

"These emails add to the growing list of serious questions about what top officials from the Obama administration initially knew about the attacks on Americans in Benghazi and about who was responsible just hours after the assault began," Price wrote in a statement. "At the very least, they demand that, on behalf of the American people, we continue to ask why the Obama administration attempted to so adamantly and publicly push an alternative narrative about the attacks for more than two weeks after four Americans were killed. It is a narrative that appears to have been, from almost the very beginning, in doubt."

But Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today disputed any notion that the email alerts should be viewed as conclusive evidence.

"Posting something on Facebook is not, in and of itself, evidence," Clinton told reporters. "I think it just underscores how fluid the reporting was at the time and continued for some time to be."

Clinton reiterated that the State Department's internal investigation is ongoing and is examining all the evidence, "not cherry picking ... one story here or looking at one document there." She called a full investigation the "appropriate approach" before drawing any conclusions about the attack.