HURRICANE

President Barack Obama kept a close eye on Hurricane Irene as it charged north along the East Coast on Saturday by visiting the Federal Emergency Management Agency and receiving an evening briefing from top officials.

U.S. airlines canceled more than 10,000 flights due to Hurricane Irene by late Saturday, while New York and other eastern cities initiated sweeping storm-related shutdowns of rail and mass transit systems.

Hurricane Irene swept along the New Jersey shore early on Sunday, knocking down trees, flooding streets and leaving thousands of people without electrical power.Reports from the National Weather Service suggested that Irene fell short of the most dire predictions that it could drop up to a foot of rain and pack 75 mile per hour winds.

Hurricane Irene knocked out power to 3.3 million homes and businesses along the East Coast, forced two nuclear plants to shut and idled oil ports and refining as it approached New York City early on Sunday.

More than 600,000 people in the region are also without power.

In Nassau County, Irene felled trees and knocked out power

Congratulations New York. You can really weather a storm. First this week there was an earthquake, registering 5.8 on the scale. That rattled some nerves, but the city, calmly, came out just fine. Today, Hurricane Irene cut a path to the city, but just before 10 a.m., the worst has passed, the sun is peaking out and the rain has let up to a trickle.

Hurricane Irene battered New York with heavy winds and driving rain on Sunday, knocking out power and flooding some of Lower Manhattan's deserted streets even as it lost some of its power.

New York City on Sunday morning sees Hurricane Irene weakening to tropical storm, as its menace battered the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast.

Two events took the centre stage last week. One was Hurricane Irene that caused havoc in the Bahamas and North Carolina before heading towards New york City.

Hurricane Irene is not a hurricane any more: it was demoted to a tropical storm after its sustained winds fell below 74 mph to an average of 55 mph.

New York may have dodged a big bullet as Hurricane Irene weakened early Sunday but America's largest city isn't dodging major impact from the storm's path and might. Irene weakened to barely hurricane as it approached New York early Sunday morning and hurricane force winds were expected to spare the city, but the storm has rattled windows and been driving heavy rain since the early morning hours.

Hurricane Irene roared into New York City shortly after dawn Sunday with winds gusting to 70 mph and a storm surge threatening the boardwalk of Rockawy Beach and other low-lying areas of Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan's financial district.

Hurricane Irene battered New York with heavy winds and driving rain on Sunday, shutting down the U.S. financial capital and most populous city, halting mass transit and causing massive power blackouts as it churned slowly northward along the eastern seaboard.

Hurricane Irene battered New York with ferocious winds and driving rain on Sunday, shutting down the U.S. financial capital and most populous city, halting mass transit and causing massive power blackouts as it churned slowly northward along the eastern seaboard.

Hurricane Irene could end up shutting down New York City for days. The city's subway and mass transit system closed at noon on Saturday, and ahead of Irene's arrival Mayor Michael Bloomberg said subways weren't likely to be reopened on Monday. Without a functioning subway system, New York would remain at a virtually standstill.

Hurricane Irene began to pummel Virginia on Saturday night -- killing three and leaving millions without power -- yet Virginia's governor warned the worst is still to come.

5 reasons why East Coast residents should be grateful Irene came on a weekend

Hurricane Irene began her attack on the East Coast on Saturday -- killing at least 8 and leaving more than a million people without power.

While we safely wait for this anticipated storm, social media sites become the place to pass the time. Celebrities across the country have taken to Twitter to express their thoughts on Hurricane Irene.

Hurricane Irene, the first of the 2011 season, is on a destructive path along the East Coast. Irene took three lives in North Carolina and one in Virginia. Additionally, the Category 1 hurricane has effectively closed down New York, the nation's largest city. Irene is packing winds of about 90 miles per hour and is churning over North Carolina and Virginia.