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With Election Day just two days away, the presidential campaigns of Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Gov. Mitt Romney are spending the final hours criss-crossing the swing states trying to get their supporters to the polls.

The beachfront, blue-collar town in Queens, N.Y., was hit hard not only by Superstorm Sandy's raging winds and floodwaters, but also by a massive fire that tore through the area. More than a hundred homes were destroyed as firefighters battled for nearly 10 hours. A local fire commander says he's hopeful Breezy Point will recover but knows it will take time.

The 23-year-old singer-songwriter and guitarist, who has been compared to Adele, swept critics after her TV debut. One said her voice seemed to make time stand still.

In the final days before the election, the parties are doubling down on their convictions. Long-term demographics, however, suggest shifts in America's electorate that could mean big challenges for the Republican Party in coming years — but also could offer some new opportunities.

Missouri has the lowest cigarette tax in the country and health advocates cite that when pointing to the state's high smoking rates and minimal resources to help people quit. A ballot measure in the state proposes changing that, directing the tax revenue to schools and tobacco prevention programs.

The presidential election is not until Tuesday, but already disputes about the vote have broken out in Florida. The state's Republican-led legislature this year cut back the period allowed for early voting from 14 to 8 days, and it ended on Saturday. But some counties opened elections offices Sunday to allow people to cast absentee ballots in person.

In upstate New York, Maraleen Manos-Jones, who cultivates a butterfly garden, discovered the late-bloomer in its chrysalis. She'll travel with the monarch on a plane to the San Antonio Botanical Gardens, where it can join other monarchs on their epic migration to Mexico.

After the Miami-Dade County mayor ordered a stop to voting, some in line banged on the windows and chanted, "Let us vote." In the Orlando area, a bomb threat suspended early voting.

This pre-election Political Junkie column focuses on all presidential swing states and key races for House and Senate.

Some schools don't have heat. Others are serving their students shelf-safe milk. But they're open and making it feel like normal.