It wasn’t just power that went out for hundreds of thousands of people across the northeast. Cell reception — even in areas with power — has been spotty at best, and frequently entirely absent.

While Sandy’s main impacts have been felt on roads, in homes, and in communities, they also have the potential of being felt at the voting booth. In the storm's aftermath, will all the displaced people be able to make it to the polls? Will the absentee ballots be delivered? And in places that rely on electronic voting machines, will voting even be possible? Scott Colabella, the county clerk for Ocean County, New Jersey, explains.

One of the daunting tasks after Hurricane Sandy is how to drain out all the floodwaters caused by the massive storm. Chris Gardner, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in New York, has been pumping water out from the subway system and transportation in New York City.

Beginning today, New Zealand will have legal tender featuring Hobbit words and images. And it's not funny money, but real money that can be used to buy and sell goods, with pictures of Hobbits and words in both English and Dwarvish. Ed Reiter, the senior editor at COINage Magazine, explains.

One of the problems facing people affected by Hurricane Sandy is transportation. That includes access to gasoline, of course, which has become more important because many subways, trains, and buses are still well below capacity. Jack Hohman works at Us Gas in Union, New Jersey. He's been dealing with shortages ...

As election day quickly approaches, the nation’s attention has been glued to Governor Romney, President Obama, and most recently Hurricane Sandy. But this November, contentious races in the Senate will also produce lasting effects on the power balance in Washington. Adam Reilly is covering the senate race in Massachusetts for WGBH and Wes Hester is covering the Virginia senate race for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

With much of the hurricane damage in the country’s largest media market, the plight of New Yorkers is sure to dominate the news cycle for weeks — if not months. But could the effects of the hurricane extend beyond the flood zones and power grids?  Could it decide a presidency?