A weakening Hurricane Bill spun northward Saturday, churning up seas, creating dangerous riptides and closing beaches to swimmers along the Eastern Seaboard, including Martha's Vineyard, President Obama's vacation spot.
The Category 1 hurricane was expected to pass the U.S. mainland well off New England late Saturday, but it was still packing high winds and causing waves that had safety officials urging extreme caution.
Much of the mid-Atlantic coast was under small-craft and high surf advisories Saturday due to the then-Category 2 hurricane, and beaches in New York were closed because of waves and riptides. Farther south, the risk of riptides -- narrow channels of water that surge out to sea -- decreased.
At Ocean City, Md., beaches were open and lifeguards on duty, said Joseph Theobald, the town's director of emergency services. Along some beaches in Delaware and New Jersey, no swimming was allowed. Boaters on the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River were not expected to see unusual waves or tides, said meteorologist Stephen Konarik of the National Weather Service.
A tropical storm warning was issued Saturday for Massachusetts, including the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, meaning tropical-storm-force winds of 40 mph or more could hit the coastline in the next 24 hours.
But the worst of Bill was expected to pass about 150 to 200 miles east of Martha's Vineyard before Obama's expected arrival Sunday.
In the Washington region, the Weather Service predicted improving conditions on Sunday, with morning clouds giving way to sunny skies in the afternoon. Temperatures were expected to climb back into the high 80s, and there was a 40 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms.
-- Emma Brown and Wire Reports
HEALTH-CARE REFORM
Obama Decries Myths
President Obama used his weekly radio and Internet address to call for "honest debate" about his health-care reform proposals and decry "willful misrepresentations," "outright distortions" and "outrageous myths" circulating on the Internet, cable television and at town hall meetings across the country.
In the video, Obama seeks to assure the public that illegal immigrants would not be eligible for insurance under reform proposals and that the plans do not mandate coverage for abortions, contain "death panels" or portend a "government takeover" of health care.
Also Saturday, protesters held rallies against health-care reform in front of at least 100 congressional district offices. Attendance at the coordinated events was spotty, but at some sites, hundreds of protesters marched for hours. The largest crowds were in Obama's home state of Illinois, where organizers reported that more than 1,000 people collectively showed up at two protest sites.
-- Garance Franke-Ruta
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