Hurricane Sandy is packing 85 mile an hour winds as it continues to approach the Eastern seaboard this morning. Evacuations have been ordered across a large portion of the East Coast, flights are being delayed or cancelled, mass transit is mostly shut down and the stock markets are closed. Sandy is expected to make landfall later this afternoon or tonight somewhere in the Atlantic City area.

Hurricane Sandy is disrupting the race for the White House. President Obama is bailing out of two appearances, in Ohio and Virginia as he heads back to Washington DC.

The Coast Guard says it has received word that the crew of the HMS Bounty has abandoned ship approximately 90 miles southeast of Hatteras, North Carolina.  The 180-foot, three mast tall ship, which was originally built for the 1962 movie version of “Mutiny on the Bounty,” reported it was taking on water.

A soldier from Murrieta has died in combat operations overseas. The Defense Department says 22 year old Sergeant Clinton K. Ruiz was killed Thursday when enemy forces attacked his unit in Afghanistan. A soldier from Houston was also killed in the attack.

San Bernardino County officials are deeming a fire that swept across the 210 Freeway on Saturday afternoon suspicious.  The five-acre blaze broke out around 2:30 in brush near E Street.  CHP officers say three separate fires merged and become one.  No injuries were reported.  A blaze on Friday afternoon in north Fontana scorched more than 300 acres, and another fire in the Cajon Pass on Saturday afternoon blacked two acres.

Gas prices are continuing to drop in the Inland Empire where prices fell to $4.17 per gallon over the weekend. IE gas prices are down more than 50 cents in the last 20 days.

The San Francisco Giants swept their way to their second World Series title in three years by knocking off the Detroit Tigers in 10 innings, 4-3.

The East Coast storm and rain put a damper on the weekend movie box office. Argo was number one earning $12.3 million dollars …Hotel Transylvania was second.