In New York City, Evening Storm Causes Widespread Damage, Disrupts Commute

Good morning.

Last evening, [one heck of a] a storm blew through New York City, breaking branches, ripping roofs off buildings, and interrupting train service. According to The New York Times, at least one person was killed.

The storm and its aftereffects bore many of the hallmarks of a tornado, with the tops of countless trees sheared off and roofs blown off houses, but National Weather Service officials were still analyzing data to determine whether it should be classified as one.

The fast-moving storm, with winds estimated at 60 to 80 miles an hour, caused widespread damage. There were numerous reports of small fires, power failures and damage to homes, stores and vehicles.

In the Rose Garden this afternoon, President Obama is expected to announce his decision to make Elizabeth Warren "Assistant to the President and Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau."

 

This morning, Warren posted this on The White House Blog:

The President asked me, and I enthusiastically agreed, to serve as an Assistant to the President and Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  He has also asked me to take on the job to get the new CFPB started—right now.  The President and I are committed to the same vision on CFPB, and I am confident that I will have the tools I need to get the job done.

President Obama understands the importance of leveling the playing field again for families and creating protections that work not just for the wealthy or connected, but for every American. The new consumer bureau is based on a pretty simple idea:  people ought to be able to read their credit card and mortgage contracts and know the deal.  They shouldn’t learn about an unfair rule or practice only when it bites them—way too late for them to do anything about it.  The new law creates a chance to put a tough cop on the beat and provide real accountability and oversight of the consumer credit market.  The time for hiding tricks and traps in the fine print is over.  This new bureau is based on the simple idea that if the playing field is level and families can see what’s going on, they will have better tools to make better choices.

She concludes the post with this line: "It's time for all of us to pull up or socks and get to work."

Other stories making headlines today:

— "The 'tea party' gears up for 2012," The Washington Post:

The new force within the Republican Party is contemptuous of safe, pragmatic calculations for winning swing voters and offers no forgiveness for political compromises and ideological inconsistencies. Saying you're for smaller government, for instance, and then backing the bailout of Wall Street banks.

— "U.S. Tech Probe Nears End," The Wall Street Journal:

Several of the U.S.'s largest technology companies are in advanced talks with the Justice Department to avoid a court battle over whether they colluded to hold down wages by agreeing not to poach each other's employees.

The companies, which include Google Inc., Apple Inc., Intel Corp., Adobe Systems Inc., Intuit Inc. and Walt Disney Co. unit Pixar Animation, are in the final stages of negotiations with the government, according to people familiar with the matter.

— "Relief bore reaches BP's damaged well; endgame in sight," Los Angeles Times:

An emergency relief well has successfully intersected BP's damaged Gulf of Mexico oil well, federal officials announced Thursday night.

"Through a combination of sensors embedded in the drilling equipment and sophisticated instrumentation that is capable of sensing distance to the well casing, BP engineers and the federal science team have concluded that the Development Driller III relief well has intersected the Macondo well," retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the federal spill commander, said in a statement.

Next, crews will prepare to pump cement into the well's outer ring "and complete the 'bottom kill' of the well," Allen said. That is expected within days.

— "Citgo sign outside Fenway Park gets relighted," Boston Globe:

The giant Citgo sign visible over Fenway Park's famous Green Monster left field wall will soon be lighting up the night again.

The 3,600-square foot, sign featuring the Venezuelan oil company's iconic red triangle on a white background has been dark since the middle of the summer for a makeover, but will be turned on again Friday during the seventh-inning stretch of the Red Sox game against the Toronto Blue Jays.