NEW YORK (Reuters) – Hurricane Sandy, the monster storm bearing down on the East Coast, strengthened on Monday after hundreds of thousands moved to higher ground, public transport shut down and the stock market suffered its first weather-related closure in 27 years.

About 50 million people from the Mid-Atlantic to Canada were in the path of the nearly 1,000-mile-wide (1,600-km-wide) storm, which forecasters said could be the largest to hit the mainland in U.S. history. It was expected to topple trees, damage buildings, cause power outages and trigger heavy flooding.

By Daniel Trotta

(Reuters) – Plans to save Big Bird, the fuzzy yellow character on U.S. public television’s “Sesame Street,” from possible extinction are taking shape in the form of a puppet-based protest next month dubbed the “Million Muppet March.”

The demonstration is planned for November 3 at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., three days before the general election.

Oct 12 (Reuters) – Plans to save Big Bird, the fuzzy yellow
character on U.S. public television’s “Sesame Street,” from
possible extinction are taking shape in the form of a
puppet-based protest next month dubbed the “Million Muppet
March.”

The demonstration is planned for Nov. 3 at the National Mall
in Washington, D.C., three days before the general election.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stuck in a miserable slump, the New York Yankees head to Detroit down 2-0 in the American League Championship Series and must face one of the best pitchers in the game, Justin Verlander, the Tigers’ Game Three starter.

“It’s a fun challenge,” Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira said after his team managed just four hits in Sunday’s 3-0 home loss to the Tigers.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Joe Torre knew Derek Jeter’s injury was serious the moment the New York Yankees shortstop remained on the ground grimacing in pain after diving for a ground ball.

The former Yankees manager had grown accustomed to Jeter’s remarkable durability and desire to play through injury, among the qualities that have made the All-Star the face of the most recognizable team in baseball.

By Daniel Trotta

(Reuters) – Plans to save Big Bird, the fuzzy yellow character on U.S. public television’s “Sesame Street,” from possible extinction are taking shape in the form of a puppet-based protest next month dubbed the “Million Muppet March.”

The demonstration is planned for November 3 at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., three days before the general election.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Baltimore’s ability to defy the probabilities of baseball has carried the Orioles into a deciding Game Five of their American League Division Series against the New York Yankees.

With their 13-inning 2-1 victory over the Yankees on Thursday, the Orioles improved to 8-0 in games that have gone 13 innings or more in 2012.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The father of New York Yankees Manager Joe Girardi died on Saturday and Girardi kept the news from the team until Thursday to avoid distracting them from their playoff series with the Baltimore Orioles.

Jerry Girardi, 81, died at a healthcare residence in Metamora, Illinois, the Yankees said in a statement. He had suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, his son said.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez has blasted 647 home runs and signed two record-setting contracts in his career, so being benched with a crucial game on the line is something completely alien to the 37-year-old.

However, he experienced just that on Wednesday when manager Joe Girardi sent Raul Ibanez to pinch hit for him with the Yankees down by a run in the bottom of the ninth in Game Three of the AL Division Series against the Baltimore Orioles.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Meet the undecided voter.

Sometimes seen as the great prize of U.S. electoral politics, this elusive citizen is more likely to be female, white, lacking a college education and earning less than $25,000, according Reuters/Ipsos polling data accumulated over the course of 2012.

The “undecideds” make up roughly 6 percent of the electorate, with a slightly higher concentration in an Upper Midwest region including Ohio and Wisconsin, swing states that could determine the outcome of a close election.