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OBAMA

UPDATE: Obama's campaign ends where it all began

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — President Barack Obama is asking Iowa voters to help him finish what they started in the state four years ago.

In his last political rally as a candidate, Obama says Iowa voters helped start "a movement that spread across the country."

More than 20,000 people are attending the outdoor rally on the eve of Election Day.

For the president, the Iowa rally is steeped with nostalgia. His win in the state's 2008 caucus jumpstarted his first presidential bid. And his last rally Monday night is being held in front of the building that housed his campaign headquarters during that election.

ROMNEY-NEW HAMPSHIRE

UPDATE: On election eve, Romney promises 'real change'

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Mitt Romney is rallying New Hampshire voters on the eve of Election Day, repeating his promise of "real change' if elected.

The Republican presidential candidate also told more than 10,000 voters late Monday night that a second Obama term could cause another recession.

The rally in a packed sports arena in Manchester, N.H., is the fifth stop on a daylong, four-state slog that first took him to Florida, Virginia and Ohio.

The former Massachusetts governor launched his presidential campaign in New Hampshire in June 2011. The 11 p.m. rally was supposed to be his final campaign stop, but then Romney added Election Day campaigning in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

NEW HAMPSHIRE-FIRST RETURNS

NH residents vie to be first Election Day voters

DIXVILLE NOTCH, N.H. (AP) — While most of the East Coast is asleep, residents of two tiny villages in northern New Hampshire will head to the polls at midnight to cast the first Election Day votes in the nation.

Dixville Notch has 10 voters and Hart's Location has 37 (there were 36, but one more registered at the last minute.) The towns have been enjoying their first-vote status since 1948 and it's a matter of pride to get everyone to the polls.

Hart's Location Selectman Mark Dindorf says you could call it a friendly competition to see who gets votes tallied first, although he says Hart's Location is a town and Dixville Notch is a precinct.

President Barack Obama and GOP candidate Mitt Romney are locked in a fierce battle for the swing state's four electoral votes.

VOTERS-FINAL PUSH

Feverish early-vote effort turns to Election Day

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ever urgent as the clock runs down, Barack Obama's and Mitt Romney's teams have been pressing voters to get to the polls while thousands who are already there have waited in long lines for their final chance to avoid the Election Day crush.

In Columbus, Ohio, more than 1,000 murmuring voters were winding through a maze in a former department store on the city's west side.

In Cleveland, the atmosphere was festive. Music was blaring across the street from the county elections board office. Hot dog vendors, campaign button sellers, even the Rev. Jesse Jackson sought to woo the crowd.

Those are just two of the many scenes being played out across the country during the final acts of the 2012 presidential campaign.

SUPERSTORM-VOTING

States scramble to help displaced residents vote

TOMS RIVER, N.J. (AP) — One storm-battered New Jersey county is delivering ballots to emergency shelters while New York City is lining up shuttle buses to ferry people in hard-hit coastal areas to the polls.

With the presidential election looming just a week after Superstorm Sandy's devastation, authorities are scrambling to make voting as manageable as possible while election watchers warn that any shortcuts could compromise the integrity of the balloting.

Election officials in both New Jersey and New York are guardedly optimistic that power will be restored and most polling places will be open in all but the worst-hit areas for Tuesday's election. Both states are allowing displaced residents to cast a provisional ballot for president and statewide office holders in any polling place.

SUPERSTORM SANDY-FOOD AID

USDA sending food aid to Sandy victims

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Agriculture Department is sending food aid to victims of Superstorm Sandy.

USDA announced Monday that the department is working with the state of New York and local food banks to distribute 1.1 million pounds of food to victims in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester and Rockland counties. USDA worked with New Jersey and local organizations last week to produce meals for victims in shelters there.

The department also has approved requests from Connecticut, Maryland, New York, Rhode Island and Virginia to automatically reimburse food stamp recipients in certain counties for food lost in the storm.

USDA issued a waiver in parts of New York to allow food stamp recipients to purchase hot foods with their benefits. The benefits cannot normally be used to purchase hot, ready-to-eat foods.

SUPERSTORM-WTC MEMORIAL

WTC memorial to reopen to public after superstorm

NEW YORK (AP) — The World Trade Center memorial is reopening to the public now that damage from Superstorm Sandy has been taken care of.

National September 11 Memorial & Museum president Joe Daniels said Monday water that rushed into the lower Manhattan site has been pumped out.

Parts of the visitor center and a private entrance room for victims' families were damaged by 4 feet of water, as was some of the under-construction museum. But Daniels says "the most sacred" point of the memorial remains intact — the reflective fountains ringed by the names of the dead.

A tree that made it through the Sept. 11 terror attack also survived the storm.

The memorial reopens Tuesday morning.

BOY STARVED-MINNESOTA

Minnesota couple accused of starving adopted son

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Authorities say a Minnesota couple starved their 8-year-old adopted son so severely his bones protruded and his brain atrophied.

A criminal complaint filed last week charges Mona Hauer and Russell Hauer of North Mankato with six felonies, including neglect and malicious punishment of a child.

The complaint says the boy weighed less than 35 pounds when he was taken to the hospital.

He allegedly was given a liquid-only diet, and an alarm was on his door so he wouldn't steal food. He told authorities he had taken rotting food from a compost site because he was hungry.

The adoptive mother told authorities they put the boy on a liquid diet because he threw up his food.

It's unclear if the Hauers have an attorney. Their home voicemail was full Monday.

OBIT-FLICK

Jim Flick dies of cancer at 82

CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) — Jim Flick, a golf instructor for more than 50 years whose clients included Tom Lehman and Jack Nicklaus upon joining the Champions Tour, died Monday of pancreatic cancer, his family said. He was 82.

Flick taught golf in 23 countries and directed programs such as Golf Digest's Schools and ESPN Golf Schools. He was director of instruction at Desert Mountain in Scottsdale, Ariz., for 20 years and wrote five books, the most recent one titled, "Jack Nicklaus, Simply the Best." Nicklaus sought out Flick in 1990 to help with his game after his longtime coach, Jack Grout, had died.

Lehman spoke to Flick on Sunday before winning the Charles Schwab Cup Championship at Desert Mountain.

Funeral arrangements were pending. Flick is survived by his wife, Geri, and five children.

OBIT-CARTER

Composer Elliott Carter dies in NY at age 103

NEW YORK (AP) — Classical composer and Pulitzer Prize winner Elliott Carter has died in New York City at age 103.

Music publishing company Boosey and Hawkes says Carter died Monday. It hasn't given a cause of death.

Carter's challenging, rhythmically complex works earned him widespread admiration and two Pulitzer Prizes. His work had different instruments interacting in complex ways, which made it dramatic for listeners to hear but complicated for orchestras to learn.

He won his first Pulitzer Prize in 1960 for his Second String Quartet. His second award was in 1973 for his Third String Quartet.

He is survived by his son and grandson.