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October 26, 2012 | | THE ROUTE TO 270 Mitt Romney's supposed 'surge' was fun while it lasted, but the Republican nominee must now face reality—President Obama holds a commanding lead in the Electoral College. The Daily Beast's Robert Shrum on why Obama has this in the bag. MUTANT WEATHER Just in time for Halloween, Mother Nature is unleashing a weather monster. Hurricane Sandy has already killed at least 39 people in the Caribbean and is barreling towards the U.S., where it could bring a horrifying mix of high winds, heavy rains, extreme tides, and even snow as early as Sunday. The Daily Beast's Bill McKibben on why Sandy could be a terrifying look what the future has in store—ever more frequent assaults of not-so-natural origin. GUILTY An overachieving Italian court Friday sentenced former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi to four years in jail for tax fraud. Prosecutors only asked for a sentence of three years and eight months. Berlusconi and 10 others were being tried in connection with a scheme to purchase broadcasting rights for U.S. movies for the prime minister’s private television networks through offshore companies while falsely declaring the payments to avoid taxes. The 76-year-old politician has the right to appeal the ruling two more times, and won’t be jailed until after the final appeal. NIGHTMARE Police said on Friday that the nanny suspected of killing two children stabbed herself in the neck as the children's mother walked in the room. Officials said the nanny, Yoselyn Ortega remained in critical condition at a hospital Friday with an allegedly self-inflicted slash to her throat and is in police custody. Marina Krim had left her Upper West Side apartment Thursday afternoon to take one of her children to a swimming lesson, leaving daughter Lucia 6, and son Leo, 2, in Ortega’s care. She returned home to a dark apartment and found her two children dead in a bathtub, and then Ortega allegedly began stabbing herself with a knife. Police have so far found no motive—nothing in Ortega’s background, her relationship with the Krims, or any indication that she or anyone in her family had a history of mental illness. RECOVERY Good news for the holiday season: The U.S. economy expanded at a two percent annual rate from July to September, slightly faster than the 1.3 percent rate in the last quarter, the Commerce Department said Friday. While the growth was modest, the factors contributing to it—an uptick in consumer and defense spending—are encouraging. With the election just two weeks away, it’s a number that both presidential candidates will attempt to spin in their favor. Obama will say that it proves his economic plan is working. Romney will point out that the 1.74 percent rate for 2012 so far is lower than last year’s 1.8 percent growth, and is still too weak to boost hiring. | | 
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