The race for the White House has entered its final day with both candidates focusing on last-minute campaign stops in marginal states. The race is close, with the popular vote evenly poised. But the latest opinion polls show President Obama is ahead of the Republican challenger Mitt Romney in the swing states.

 

 

 

Politics have been overshadowed by a desperate need to restore the basics of life for many victims of hurricane Sandy. New York's governor says tens of thousands of people need re-housing as temperatures drop to near freezing levels. Up to 2 million people in New York state and neighbouring New Jersey are still without power.

 

 

 

The Federal Government is being warned that its promised billion dollar budget surplus is more likely to be a four-billion-dollar deficit. An independent report by the Deloitte Access Economics blames its slowdown in China and falling commodity prices and it says that's hurting the government's mining tax revenue.

 

 

 

The Prime Minister Julia Gillard will hold talks with Asian and European leaders at a major summit in Laos, starting today. The two-day talks will be dominated by the Asian economic slowdown and Eurozone crisis.