Obama to Philly: 'I Need 20,000 Doors Knocked On'

President Obama was greeted by more than 1,500 cheering students and volunteer canvassers at a Saturday rally for fellow Democrats in Pennsylvania, where he urged the young crowd to go to the polls Tuesday and encourage their friends and neighbors to do the same.

Hundreds spread out across Philadelphia afterward to knock on doors and pass out literature.

"Coming to a rally isn't the hard part," Obama told the crowd at Temple University. "I need 20,000 doors knocked on."

Two candidates facing tough races were on stage for the president's get-out-the-vote message: Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, who trails in the polls behind Republican state Attorney General Tom Corbett, and U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, who is in a tight race with Republican Pat Toomey for a U.S. Senate seat.

Obama asked his audience to approach the midterm elections Tuesday with the same enthusiasm that brought him to the White House and a wave of Democrats to Congress in 2008.

"Two years ago, it wasn't about me," he said. "It was about you and this country. ... You cannot stop now."

Sestak warmed up the crowd before the president's arrival, telling the students that Democrats need to continue working to "heal and repair" the country.

"Make sure everyone knows about what's at stake in this election," he said. "You don't just vote once for change, you keep fighting for it."

Onorato said the elections are not only about a vote for candidates but for "a philosophy -- which way do you want this country to go?"

Other Democrats were on hand including Gov. Ed Rendell, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, U.S. Sen. Robert Casey and outgoing five-term U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, who lost to Sestak in the May primary.

A group of about 25 anti-Obama protesters, many waving "Don't Tread on Me" flags, stood outside an entrance to the university auditorium as students filed in.

Toomey planned events Saturday afternoon in West Chester and Blue Bell in suburban Philadelphia, and Corbett had scheduled stops in Saint Clair, Hazleton and Williamsport, winding up with a chat with tailgaters at Penn State's football game in State College.

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Hurricane Tomas Wreaks Havoc, Threatens Haiti

CASTRIES, St. Lucia -- Newly born Hurricane Tomas swept through a cluster of eastern Caribbean islands Saturday, tearing off roofs, damaging houses and downing power lines.

Authorites in St. Vincent were trying to confirm reports that three people died, including two men who might have been blown off a roof, said Jimmy Prince, emergency management spokesman.

Fierce winds tore roofs from nearly 100 homes and more than 400 people sought emergency shelter as the island plunged into darkness, he said.

"Many of them are workers who were unable to get off Mustique," he said, referring to a tiny island just south of St. Vincent.

In St. Lucia, winds also ripped off the roof of a hospital, a school, a stadium and toppled a large concrete cross from the roof of a century-old church, government officials said.

Heavy rains also unleashed a landslide that blocked a main highway linking the capital to the island's southern region.

Prime Minister Stephenson King said he was still stranded in Barbados on an official trip and apologized to people on an island that reported a complete blackout.

"It hurts me to know that I am not around to give courage, strength and guidance at a time when we all must bond together and give support to each other," he said in a statement.

The government ordered two airports and all businesses closed and people called radio stations to admonish parents who were letting children play in the streets, where trees and power lines were falling.

"This is no joke," said calypso singer Nintus, one of the callers.

Organizers of the island's biggest Creole festival called off the event due to the storm, disappointing both would-be revelers and dozens of vendors who traveled to the capital to sell vegetables, fruits and other provisions.

"All my preparations have gone down the drain," said vendor Theckla Darius, from the rural community of Fond Assau. "It's been a lot of effort for nothing."

Also under hurricane warning were St. Vincent and Martinique, where at least 20,000 people were without power, streets flooded and tree branches were down. A cruise ship carrying nearly 2,000 tourists docked instead in Dominica.

Tomas had already knocked down power lines and damaged houses in Barbados as a tropical storm.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Tomas strengthened Saturday night with 90 mph (150 kph) winds and was centered about 50 miles (85 kilometers) west-southwest of St. Lucia. It was moving west-northwest at 9 mph (15 kph).

Tomas, the Atlantic season's 12th hurricane, was expected to drop up to 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain in the region.

Forecasters said it could become a Category 2 storm Monday evening and possibly reach Category 3 by midweek, with winds around 115 mph (184 kph).

It was forecast to head toward Jamaica and could unleash heavy rains in southern portions of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, which is struggling to recover from a devastating earthquake and cope with a recent cholera outbreak.

Haiti issued an orange storm alert, the second highest level. Authorities warned southern and western regions -- including the quake-ravaged capital of Port-au-Prince, where an estimated 1.3 million people are living in tent camps -- to be on guard for high winds, thunderstorms and possible flooding.

But with few usable storm shelters and no feasible evacuation plan, residents will largely be on their own.

Tropical storm warnings were issued for Dominica, Tobago and Grenada, where the airport closed and gas stations sold out of fuel.

Another tropical storm, Shary, headed into the open Atlantic after missing Bermuda.

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Several Arrested in Swedish Bomb Plot Case

Published October 30, 2010

| Associated Press

STOCKHOLM -- Swedish police says they have made several arrests after a suspected bomb plot in the country's second-largest city.

Police declined to confirm the number of arrests made early Saturday, but said the persons are suspected of preparing a terror crime.

Police spokesman Bjor Blixter says "the arrests were made at several addresses in the Goteborg area," but that the motive for the plot is not yet clear.

Blixter says police "can't rule out" there will be more arrests linked to the case. He would not say whether it was related to criminal groups or international terrorists.

Swedish intelligence agency, SAPO, is helping out in the investigation, but said Sweden's terror threat level would not be raised because of the arrests.

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