East Coast grinds to a halt as superstorm nears

NEW YORK (AP) - Forecasters say Hurricane Sandy is about 310 miles (505 kilometers) south-southeast of New York City, and the center of the storm is expected to be near the mid-Atlantic coast on Monday night.

The National Hurricane Center said early Monday that the storm has top sustained winds of 85 mph (140 kph), with higher gusts. It is moving toward the north-northwest at 20 mph (32 kph). Hurricane-force winds extend up to 175 miles (280 kilometers) from the storm's center.

Sandy is on track to collide with a wintry storm moving in from the west and cold air streaming down from the Arctic.

Major metropolitan areas from Washington to Boston are bracing for what is expected to be a superstorm that could menace some 50 million people in the most heavily populated corridor in the nation.