Obama convening meeting on Sandy recovery efforts

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama on Saturday is gathering together top aides and state and local officials impacted by Superstorm Sandy as he continues to monitor the government's response to the weather disaster, the White House said.

Obama will convene a meeting with his team in the morning, to be joined by telephone by officials including Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Federal Emergency Management Administrator Craig Fugate, as well as other members of the Cabinet, also will participate.

Following the meetings, administration officials will visit storm-damaged communities throughout the affected region to view response efforts firsthand, and make sure necessary resources are being provided.

Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan will visit public housing developments in the Rockaways and tour Breezy Point, N.Y. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will visit hospital workers, residents impacted by the storm, and local officials in the Manhattan and Brooklyn boroughs of New York City. Small Business Administrator Karen Mills will join Malloy and other state and local officials and small business owners in Norwalk and Bridgeport, Conn.

Napolitano will travel to West Virginia and Long Island, N.Y. The president's chief counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, will join officials from FEMA, the Transportation Department and the Army Corps of Engineers in Hoboken, Newark, and Jersey City, N.J., as well as Staten Island, N.Y.