US President Barack Obama (C) listens to local officials on October 31, 2012 as he visits a neighborhood in Brigantine, New Jersey hit by Hurricane Sandy. Americans sifted through the wreckage of superstorm Sandy on Wednesday as millions remained without power. The storm carved a trail of devastation across New York City and New Jersey, killing dozens of people in several states, swamping miles of coastline, and throwing the tied-up White House race into disarray just days before the vote. AFP PHOTO/Jewel Samad