03/11/2012 BBC Weekend News

It is the final countdown in the race for the US presidency. Mitt

Romney and Barack Obama on a frenetic last weekend of

campaigning in the all-important swing states. You know I tell the

truth and Janelle I will fight for you and your families. -- and you

know. He says it has to stay this way, but I say it cannot stay this

way. He is offering excuses, but I've got a plan. With the

candidates neck and neck in the polls, we have the latest on the

campaign. Superstorm Sandy few horses -- forces fuel rationing in

New Jersey as more than 1 million homes and businesses remain without

power. Rebels in Syria attack a military base used to mount air

assaults on opposition fighters. And the Formula One championship is

thrown wide open tonight as Sebastian Vettel is penalised after

qualifying and will start Good evening. Barack Obama and Mitt

Romney are spending the weekend in a frenetic round of campaigning

ahead of Tuesday's presidential vote, with the candidates running

virtually neck and neck in the polls. They have been focusing on

the crucial undecided swing state. Barack Obama said he wanted to

create a future on a strong and growing middle class. Mitt Romney

talked of wanting to lead America to a better place. Life to our

correspondent in Washington. -- lied. It's extraordinary that after

all of these campaigning, the race should come down to such a close

dead-heat as we are seeing. That means both candidates seemed that

more fired up than they have ever been and are both focusing on what

they can do. They are trying to Sometimes the line between

entertainment and politics is hard to draw in this election. The

singer Katie Perry opening for Barack Obama in Wisconsin today.

The latest Tinseltown staff to throw her support behind the

President. -- Tinseltown staff. When he emerged in the arena,

Barack Obama was firing on all cylinders. It is good to be back in

Wisconsin! Now it is nearly over, he looks more and beat Benny has

for months. You know why I'm working hard because my voice is

all ragged. But he is not home and dry yet. Earlier in Ohio, the state

on which the outcome may hang, there was an urgent appeal for the

crowd to go out and vote. If you want to knock on doors and make

some phone calls with May and early vote for me, or turn out on Tuesday

for me, we will win at Ohio and we will win this election. According

to the latest polls, the likely carve-up of the electoral map is

clear in most places. So both candidates are now on a breathless

- -- breathless run to win over the swing states that could go either

way. Barack Obama's schedule looks from Ohio to Wisconsin and I were,

finishing in Virginia. Mitt Romney leaps from New Hampshire to Iowa in

the West and two stops in Colorado. For Mitt Romney, the final,

frenzied sprint began last night with a spectacular rally in Ohio. A

small army of governors, senators and other Republican notables brave

to the freezing cold, joining him on stage will offer support. --

braved the freezing cold. Look at this team. They have gathered

tonight because they are about to fan out across the entire nation to

make sure that we have victory on November 6th. In macro Waller --

and Iowa, another dramatic entrance, where Mitt Romney poured scorn on

his opponent. He says it has to stay this way, but I say it cannot

stay this way. He is offering excuses, I've got a plan. With the

opinion polls almost a dead heat nationally, this year's election

will come down to who has the advantage in just a few states.

Expect the frenzied pace to continue right up until the end.

Of course, you have to ask yourself, what difference will all of this

last minute running around the country make, when these days and

the United States more and more people are voting early? It is

thought in the state of Ohio, at least 30% will have voted by

election day. And in places like Colorado, also a swing state, it

could be as many as 80%. But when the national races this close and

he could come down to a few votes - - it could come down to a few votes,

neither candidate will leave it to chance. Do you really think it

could go either way? There are scenarios where it could. In the

national polls it seems as though they are in a dead-heat. Looking at

the swing states, those where it is still uncertain which way it would

go, over the last few weeks, quite consistently, it has looked as

though Barack Obama has a slight advantage. But in different polls

they can sometimes be one that will put Mitt Romney ahead. It is by no

means certain. When it is in five percentage points it is never

certain that the Poles are accurate, and if they are not, there could be

a surprise on election day, and Mitt Romney could be the next

President. If you look at the mood in both camps, I would say the Mitt

Romney camp, including himself, they still seemed nervous and tense.

My sense for Barack Obama in the last couple of days, especially

since the hurricane disaster, which seems to have given him a boost, he

does look as though he feels more You can keep up-to-date with the

race for the presidency by the visiting how website. -- and

visiting our website. Over 1 million homes in New York are

without power still because of Superstorm Sandy. It has already

claimed more than 100 lives. 80% of the city's subway system is back in

service but there is petrol rationing in much of New Jersey. We

report on the clean up in New York. Today they were packing up. The New

York Marathon cancelled for the first time in 42 years. Even in the

weeks after 9/11 the race went ahead. But as bodies were still

being pulled from wrecked homes, the public outcry of holding a big

sporting event easily outweighed the spirit of keeping calm and

carrying on. This is where the New York Marathon was due to start, one

of the worst affected areas. While few doubt it was the right decision

to cancel, they wonder why the decision was not made earlier in

the week before tens of thousands of runners arrived in New York.

Barriers and tables were taken away and there were generators here,

food and security staff, all used elsewhere. People are hurting here

because they want to know whether relief is coming from. But their

resources here that would be helpful. I don't understand how you

think it could be a good idea. is still in short supply. This was

a queue at one of the Mobil petrol stations being set up across New

York to help ease the backlog. Help is getting through to those who

need it most. Communities are rallying round. And the lights are

coming back on. Tonight, most of Manhattan has power again. But

across all the storm hit states more than 1 million people are

still waiting. Until you have your lights on, you're not happy. We

understand. And we are not going to stop until we have every house,

every home with it their power restored. The if you have any

special skills, help us. Volunteers queued up to help in the chaste --

East Village, among them marathon runners, who found out where to

come. I was ready to run the there is a lot of controversy and I felt

uncomfortable running even though I had trained for it. But I will be

excited to run next year when the city is back on its feet. We just

want to help the people of the city. We will head over to an apartment

complex which does not have electricity and we will knock on

their doors and make sure they are OK and help them. There has been

lost and there has been anger, but there is also spirit. People will

Syrian rebels say they are locked in a fierce battle with government

forces for control of a strategically important military

base. The attack on the air base at Taftanaz in the north of the

country is aimed at hampering the regime's use of airpower to bomb

The rebel offensive began at first light. Fighters opened fire at the

Taftanaz airbase using multiple rocket launchers and mortars. The

video footage is not been verified, but it is thought to be genuine. --

has not been verified. Syrian TV said the attack on the airport was

repelled. Armed forces killed a large number of terrorists and

destroyed their vehicles. These pictures appear to show government

helicopters able to land. But it has been impossible to get a full

picture of what has been happening. The rebels -- rebels have made

advances near Aleppo, but in spite of the larger weapons they have

tried to counter the Government's increasing use of airpower.

Helicopter gunships and fighters are regularly in the skies. This

rebel fighters say they attacked Taftanaz airport and destroyed a

huge area and hit a number of planes. If the Syrian rebels manage

to capture and hold the air base it could be a major development.

particular air base provides the major route for supply is in Aleppo.

Most of the strategic roads have been captured by the rebels. This

particular area would be controlled by them now. But neither side seems

capable of delivering a decisive blow in the conflict. The uprising

in Syria began 19 months ago, but President Assad remains in power,

helped in no small part by opposition that is fragmented and

fractures. A fresh attempt will be made in the coming days in the Gulf

state of Qatar to bring forward -- together the disparate elements but

there is no promise of progress towards a united opposition front.

On the ground, this was the aftermath of a bombing. People in

panic, making their way through the rubble. Amid the chaos, the

Work is underway to gather information about the spread of the

fungal disease which is killing ash trees in the UK. Experts from DEFRA

are surveying land where the trees grow to find out the extent of the

Across thousands of acres of British woodland this weekend,

experts are looking for signs of a deadly disease. Ash dieback was

first discovered in the UK in March on saplings imported from the

Netherlands. But now the symptoms have been found in wild trees as

well, and knowing just how far it has spread could be crucial to

saving the species. understanding is that this has been

blown around by the wind, so now it is in the native population and we

need to work together and put money into research to see how we can

make a border and more resilient. This is what they are looking for.

Withered leaves and markings on the bark, signs of an infection that

has wiped out 90% of the Danish ash tree population. Imports to the UK

have now been banned. The there are three possible pathways, movements

of plants, movement of dead leaves and security measures can prevent

that, and then there is a belief later overwinter which doesn't take

place until the summer -- belief later. That kingmakers slow the

spread. The fungus has been found at dozens of sites across the UK.

In Scotland earlier in the week, thousands of saplings were uprooted

and burnt and walkers are being asked to wash their books, children

and dogs to try and stop the spread -- wash their boots. The that could

be quite difficult. Do you do it when you get home or do you do it

here? The ash trees on this National Trust Park in Suffolk are

free from the fungus, but last week a few miles up the road one of the

first cases of the disease in a wild ash tree was confirmed. The

fear is now that many more could soon become infected. The results

of this survey will tell scientists how widespread the disease has

become. Meanwhile, there are already calls to quarantine any

Now to sport, and a full round-up It is getting very interesting at

the top of the Premier League. Match of the day has all the goals

after the news, but I have the results coming up, so if you have

to, it is that time again. Manchester United are top of the

table for the first time this season. They beat Arsenal tool-1 at

Old Trafford. Robin van Persie scored against his old club --

tool-1. Patrice Evra got the other goal and Wayne Rooney missed a

penalty. The Gunners had Jack Wilshere sent off. United were the

only side in the top half of the table to win as they replace

Chelsea as leaders. Chelsea were held 1-1 at Swansea. There were

wins for Norwich and Aston Villa. Wigan won at Tottenham Hotspur and

Manchester City could only draw at West Ham. Hibernian are top of the

Scottish Premier League after beating St Mirren. Aberdeen could

have gone level on points but lost to Ross County. Stephen Ross got

what proved to be the winner in their victory. Elsewhere there were

victories for Dundee, Inverness and Motherwell. There was high drama in

qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton will be on

pole for the race but world champion Sebastian Vettel will have

to start from the pit lane after running low on fuel. That opens the

door for his title rival Fernando Stop the car. Stop the car! That

could be the moment Sebastian Vettel's hopes of securing three

titles in a row faded. After setting the third fastest time in

qualifying, his team ordered him to stop before he could return to the

pits. Initially nobody seemed to know or willing to say why he

didn't make it back. It was very sudden, and I got the call to stop

the car, and I am part myself. I waited for a taxi! Almost five

hours later the reason became clear with a ruling from the stewards.

Sebastian Vettel was qualified because he ran out of petrol. When

a similar incident happened to Louise Hamilton in Barcelona

earlier this season he was relegated to the back of the grid -

- Lewis Hamilton. Sebastian Vettel suffered the same fate. He makes a

difference, but it's thousands of the second. You do have to push to

the limits but you must play safe on a basic things like how much

petrol is in the car. His nearest rival Fernando Alonso moves up to

six on the grid giving him the opportunity to close the gap. It

will take a remarkable performance for Sebastian Vettel to score any

points. For the sake of a teacup full of fuel, Red Bull may have

thrown away the drivers' championship. England's rugby

league team are looking unstoppable in the autumn series after another

big victory. They ran in eight tries against France. Kallum

Watkins scored a hat-trick in their 44-6 victory. They put 80 points

past Wales last weekend but they will play the French again next

Sunday in the final. Champions Harlequins have moved three points

clear at the top of the Aviva Premiership. They lead by 10 points

at the break with three first-half tries including this one from Sam