At least five people are dead and many are injured after storms hit the nation's southeast. South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi were all slammed by the severe weather and suspected tornadoes. Thousands remain without power. Derrick Becker, a public information officer for South Carolina Emergency Management, talks about what his organization is witnessing.

Over the weekend a bad winter storm surprised many with an early arrival, dumping inches upon inches of snow on the Northeast, causing power outages for millions, delaying flights and forcing some areas to cancel school and even declare a state of emergency. That and this morning's other top headlines. 

When the TV cameras are gone, what is it like to spend the night at Occupy Wall Street? It's been a month since protesters first began to occupy Zuccotti Park, near Wall Street in New York City. Since then, temperatures have been dropping as the number of protesters in New York and across the globe grows. This leaves many wondering how many protesters will be left when winter hits. Well, we aimed to find out — and to understand better just who was spending the night there and why.

Tropical Storm Lee continues to cause devastation in the eastern United States. Driving rain has pelted parts of Pennsylvania and Maryland, flooding homes and businesses there. At least three people have died as a result, and 130,000 people have had to leave their homes and flee to safety.

Tropical Storm Lee caused floods along the Gulf Coast earlier this week, but in Texas the storm's high winds ignited over 180 fires last week, leaving more than 1,000 homes in ruins. It is now the single worst wildfire in the state's history, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry has returned from the campaign trail to manage the response.

It’s now six years since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and caused one of the worst natural disasters in the nation’s history. And over the weekend the people of New Orleans and Louisiana braced yet again for another onslaught. Tropical Storm Lee caused torrential downpours across the region and flooding in some low lying communities, such as the town of Jean Lafitte, where mandatory evacuations were in place and the waters rose high.

Tropical Storm Irene has been called the worst natural disaster to ever hit Vermont. Twelve thousand people remain without power thereand over 250 roads were closed, with six state highway bridges completely destroyed. The federal government has pledged $5 million to Vermont for initial rebuilding. Relief efforts are underway, and progress is already being made for the many towns and highways irreparably damaged by the storm.

Within a week, the northeastern United States was hit by both an earthquake and hurricane. Following Hurricane Irene, four million homes and businesses lost electricity. According to experts like Dan Genest of Dominion Virginia Power, turning the lights back on will be no easy task. He told the AP that "one broken pole can take six to seven hours to repair."

In preparing for Hurricane Irene’s weekend arrival, communities along the East Coast prepared for the worst. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg insisted on Friday that New Yorkers "must, I repeat the word 'must,' evacuate beginning tomorrow and complete the process by 8pm tomorrow night." But his historic preparations turned out to be for a less-than-historic storm, at least in New York City. While all Americans are glad that the loss of life, property and infrastructure was relatively minimal, many people are now wondering: why was Irene so much less the threat we were told it would be?

Hurricane Irene left neighborhoods, towns and cities flooded along the eastern seaboard. Philadelphia was one of the worst hit in terms of floods, with bodies of water like the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers climbing to ten feet or more above normal levels. States like New Jersey and Vermont are also experiencing Irene-triggered floods.

Natural disasters require an incredible effort on the part of medical professionals, police, fire departments, Good Samaritans — and the media. Reporting on storms, especially hurricanes, means much more to media outlets than simple public safety information. These storms can mean big ratings, major awards, and they can make or break a reporter's career — as with The Weather Channel's Mike Seidel. Unfortunately, media histrionics can also be counterproductive to public safety.

We asked you to submit your photos of Hurricane Irene, which moved from the Outer Banks of North Carolina to New England over the weekend, weakening from a Type 1 hurricane to a tropical storm, killing at least 16 people and shutting down public transit in Philadelphia, Boston and New York. Here are some of the submissions we've received. Do you have a photo from the storm? Submit it here, or call us at 1-877-8-MY-TAKE and tell us about your Hurricane Irene experience.

Hurricane Irene is charging toward the East Coast with Category 3 power, and meteorologists are warning people from North Carolina up to New England to prepare for the storm, and in some cases evacuate. We've been checking in all week with business owners taking precautions for their shops and homes in the face of this weather.

Between the earthquake on Tuesday and the hurricane heading our way, the East Coast has been suffering at the hands of Mother Nature this week, and it's only going to continue through the weekend. Hurricane Irene hammered the Bahamas and Florida on Thursday, and the Category 3 storm is set to hit North Carolina on Saturday before blasting up the East Coast through the weekend. North Carolina has already issued evacuation orders for residents along the coast.

Hurricane Irene is gaining strength and traveling north, after pummeling the Bahamas with 115 mph winds today. The Category 3 storm is headed for North Carolina next. As residents wait for confirmation of the storm's trajectory, they are preparing their homes and businesses for the weather. Many local businesses are still waiting until later today to see what path the storm will take, before they board up completely.

Hurricane Irene has made its way through the Caribbean and is traveling to the eastern shore of the United States. In North Carolina, communities like Ocracoke Island have been evacuated. But many residents are still waiting to see whether Irene will be hitting their town.

Hurricane Irene is currently headed towards the East Coast of the U.S., and may have a major impact on a large swath of the eastern seaboard and some 65 million residents from North Carolina to Maine. With that in mind, we're watching Irene's progress and updating this blog with the latest news and information we have.

It's hard enough for humans to keep cool with the heat wave currently hitting much of the central and eastern parts of the nation. But what about the country's animals and livestock? A report from Iowa yesterday said that more than 100 cattle may have died near the Minnesota state line from heat-related issues. Today, with the heat expected to reach over 100 degrees in parts of the northeast, farmers are taking extra precautions to protect their animals.

Temperatures will be in the 90s today across the country, as the heat wave that has been stifling the Midwest begins to move east. The National Weather Service reported yesterday that at least 22 people have died from the heat, and 141 million more are under heat warnings or advisories. With the heat wave reaching this lethal level, is there technology in the U.S. that we should be using to battle it?

The U.S. is in the grip of a searing heat wave, with temperature warnings and advisories in effect for a large stretch of the central part of the country. States in the south and southwest have been experiencing extreme weather for many months, resulting in a severe drought across a belt of 14 states from Florida to Arizona. Crops and livestock are suffering, as farmers and ranchers struggle to keep them alive. But with no rain in sight and a shaky economy, some are questioning whether this could be a 21st century Dust Bowl.