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The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark lending rate a quarter point and continued to project two more increases this year, signaling more vigilance as inflation approaches its target.

“In view of realized and expected labor market conditions and inflation, the committee decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate,” the Federal Open Market Committee said in its statement Wednesday. “Near-term risks to the economic outlook appear roughly balanced.”

Investors had almost fully expected the increase to a range of 0.75 percent to 1 percent following unusually clear signals from policy makers including Chair Janet Yellen, who explained the committee’s thinking at a press conference in Washington.

“Our decision to make another gradual reduction in the amount of policy accommodation reflects the economy’s continued progress,” she told reporters. “Today’s decision is in line with that view, and does not represent a reassessment.”

Yields on two-year U.S. Treasuries declined about 6 basis points to 1.31 percent at 2:51 p.m. in New York and 10-year yields fell 9 basis points to 2.51 percent. The SP 500 Index of U.S. stocks was up 0.6 percent at 2,379.56.

“I’m a little bit surprised” Fed officials continued to forecast a total of three rate increases this year, said Daniel North, chief economist at credit insurer Euler Hermes, in Owings Mills, Maryland. “Inflation is rising, so I’ve been thinking they would project four hikes to keep the financial markets prepared” for a more rapid pace of rate moves.

The U.S. economy has mostly met the central bank’s goals of full employment and stable prices, and may get further support if President Donald Trump delivers promised fiscal stimulus.

For now, officials stuck with their “gradual” approach to tightening monetary policy, while removing the word “only” when a previous statement called the approach “only gradual.” Central bankers left unchanged their median projections for three quarter percentage-point increases in 2018, while the median fed funds rate estimate for 2019 rose to 3 percent from 2.9 percent.

No Decisions

They also repeated a commitment to maintain their balance-sheet reinvestment policy until rate increases were well under way. Yellen said officials had discussed the process of reducing the balance sheet gradually, but had made no decisions and would continue to debate the topic.

The FOMC made several changes to their language on inflation.

“The committee will carefully monitor actual and expected inflation developments relative to its symmetric inflation goal,” the Fed said in the statement. “The committee expects that economic conditions will evolve in a manner that will warrant gradual increases in the federal funds rate.”

The committee described job gains as “solid” and said business investment “appears to have firmed somewhat.” Inflation, the statement said, is “moving close” to the committee’s 2 percent target.

Lone Dissenter

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari voted against the decision to hike rates, dissenting in favor of a hold. He was the only contrary vote on the committee.

Inflation was forecast to reach 1.9 percent in the fourth quarter this year, and 2 percent in both 2018 and 2019, according to quarterly median estimates released with the FOMC statement. The Fed’s preferred measure of inflation rose 1.9 percent in the 12 months through January, just shy of its target.

Officials projected unemployment to finish this year at 4.5 percent, unchanged from the December forecast. That’s a sign they expect to overshoot their estimate for maximum use of labor resources, which they put at 4.7 percent, down from 4.8 percent in December. Unemployment was forecast to end 2018 and 2019 at 4.5 percent. The jobless rate was 4.7 percent in February.

U.S. central bankers left unchanged their forecast for 2017 GDP growth at 2.1 percent. The median estimate showed the economy expanding 2.1 percent in 2018 and 1.9 percent in 2019, compared to 2 percent and 1.9 percent in the December forecast.

Confidence Soared

The third rate hike since the 2007-2009 recession was well telegraphed, following comments in recent weeks from officials including Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer and New York Fed chief William Dudley, who called the case for a March move “a lot more compelling.”

Investor and business confidence has soared since Trump won the U.S. presidency in November, buoyed by his vows to cut taxes, lift infrastructure spending and ease regulations.

Still, economic data don’t show an economy that’s heating up rapidly. Retail sales in February grew at the slowest pace since August, a government report showed earlier Wednesday. The Atlanta Fed’s model for GDP predicts an expansion of 0.9 percent in the first quarter, less than a third the pace Trump is aiming for.

Yet some Fed officials have already upgraded their forecasts in anticipation of some form of boost to the economy from the new administration.

Details, though, remain scant and must be passed by Congress, where his Republican Party controls both chambers and may include members wary of steps that lift the U.S. deficit.

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By 2019, an estimated 80% of all consumer internet traffic will be video – a trend that savvy and forward-thinking landlords can leverage to their advantage.

In a sea of text-based information, video content can be a welcome respite for weary eyes, which is why video content is being increasingly utilised by the Australian real estate industry to strategically cut through.

Online property sales platforms like RealEstate and Domain use video in their online advertising, while many real estate agents report that video offers a strong selling point on social media.
As a result, many vendors are beginning to see the value in employing video-content creators when marketing their property for sale.

This is a trend that Steve Makris, co-founder of Real Estate Tube, believes has merits for the rental market as well. His online platform allows users to create engaging videos to attract housemates.
With the afore-mentioned Cisco study revealing that four out of five web users will be viewing video, this could be the direction that property marketing for both rentals and sales heads in moving forward.

“Images really don’t do the properties justice [as they] don’t allow potential buyers to see the size of the property and everything it entails,” Markis said.

“I decided to film the properties using my phone and email it to the buyers. Since that moment, and our incorporation of real estate videos, the company has had such a positive response from the public that I knew we were onto something unique.”

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Embattled South Australian brewer Coopers has refused to publicly estimate the financial impact of a widespread boycott on its products, after the company last night took the extraordinary step of apologising to offended customers and pulling its Bible Society commemorative cans from sale.

Tom Richardson

@tomrichardson

Wednesday March 15, 2017

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It’s understood Coopers representatives have been meeting with concerned Adelaide vendors as the brewery yesterday went into belated damage control, in the midst of an escalating campaign that had seen at least one local venue – and several interstate – join a “Boycott Coopers” campaign.

The stance was prompted by the company’s involvement with Australia’s Bible Society, of which it is a longtime sponsor. Coopers had planned to release limited edition commemorative cans quoting Bible verses to celebrate the group’s 200^th anniversary. But the furore escalated after the society released its own advertising campaign, in which Liberal MPs Tim Wilson and Andrew Hastie debated marriage equality over prominently-positioned bottles of Coopers Light – positing the message that such debates should be “kept light”.

Iconic Adelaide gay and lesbian nightclub the Mars Bar publicly posted that it would stop serving Coopers products once existing stock had been exhausted. Other venues interstate went further, posting videos of the company’s stock being binned.

InDaily asked the brewer, through its public relations firm Corporate Conversation, how much distribution had been cancelled to date and the projected financial impact of the boycott.

However, the company had nothing to add to a filmed statement it released last night, in which it apologised for its involvement in the furore and revealed it was cancelling the Bible Society commemorative cans and would “take steps to show further support for our community, including joining Australian Marriage Equality”.

Coopers’ director of corporate affairs Melanie Cooper insisted the brewer “supports marriage equality” and had always been supportive of diversity and encouraged individualism.

“Offence has been taken by our recent involvement, for which we are deeply sorry,” she said.

“We have listened to a range of community views, we acknowledge this feedback and respect everyone’s individual opinions and beliefs.”

It’s unclear what immediate impact the backflip will have, after two earlier statements by the company – the first defending the Bible Society campaign and the second attempting to distance Coopers from it.

Bible Society CEO Greg Clarke said in a one-line statement today the organisation “entirely respects the decision made by the Coopers Board and is grateful for their support over many years”.

But despite the insistence yesterday of Australian Hotels’ Association SA boss Ian Horne that local operators were unlikely to join a boycott of the homegrown brand, at least two venues are today considering their position.

The Wheatsheaf Hotel today said it remained uncertain of its response, while Grace Emily publican George Swallow told InDaily late yesterday the city pub was “still processing what’s going on”.

“We were very disappointed with the advert – it doesn’t sit well with us and our customer base,” he said.

Swallow said he was “still trying to get as much information as we can” and would “sit down and have a chat with Coopers to get their side of it directly”.

“They’ve been very good to us over the years,” he noted.

Swallow said he had spoken to “a few” fellow hoteliers but “haven’t heard of anyone else in SA” joining the national boycott.

That appears unlikely to change after the company’s mea culpa, which prompted Sydney activist James Brechney – who pioneered a Change.org campaign to boycott Coopers “until they support Marriage Equality” – to toast victory.

“I myself enjoyed a Coopers last night,” he said today.

“I’m absolutely thrilled with Coopers’ response [and] we look forward to seeing what they do with Australian Marriage Equality,” he told InDaily.

“I think we have to take them at face value – they’ve come out and said they support marriage equality, and I think that’s fantastic.”

National marriage equality campaigner Ivan Hinton-Teoh, from Just.equal, also welcomed Coopers’ “demonstrated commitment to civil debate and to reaching across traditional divides”, saying the company had “responded appropriately to an outpouring of frustration at the unnecessary delay to marriage equality”.

“Many LGBTIQ people and our allies are frustrated that marriage equality is taking so long and want commitment to reform rather than protracted debate,” he said.

“We strongly encourage Cooper’s to celebrate the bicentenary of the Bible Society in a way that does not combine the very separate issue of marriage equality.”

In the short term they will suffer some pain… it looked like they were taking sides

The company’s managing director, Dr Tim Cooper, said in the video statement that he, the board and senior staff were “incredibly saddened by the impact our involvement with the Bible Society has had on our valued Coopers drinkers and our extended family”.

“As a longstanding philanthropic company, Coopers Brewery has been passionate about supporting all aspects of our community, and has actively and financially embraced many different organisations.

“Our company’s guiding principles have centred around respect for others, and, as such, the recent activity surrounding the video made by the Bible Society has conflicted with our core values. Coopers never intended to make light of such an important issue, and would never and did not approve the making or release of the Bible Society video ‘debate’.”

A scene from the Bible Society video.

But questions remain about the ongoing impact of the marketing own-goal, with the company refusing to answer whether any of the venues that joined the boycott have since lifted their ban.

Dr Cullen Habel, an Adjunct Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Adelaide Business School, told InDaily the company was in “almost a no-win situation”.

“It’s like when you have two friends at a party that don’t like each other or don’t agree with each other – keeping the peace involves not taking anybody’s side,” he said.

And he said that, albeit inadvertently, Coopers had transgressed a golden rule of marketing.

“Every company is servicing an – our word is ‘heterogeneous’ – market, which means customers of all types… you run a really huge risk of offending a large chunk of that customer base,” he said.

“Sometimes companies can have a real win with their chosen group of customers by making a statement, but often there’s more danger to be had by making a political stand than there is a possibility of having a win.”

Habel predicted “in the short term they will suffer some pain”, having wedged both marriage equality advocates and opponents.

“Their objective was more about promoting civil discussion and debate, but it very quickly moved to looking like they were taking sides,” he said.

“Coopers didn’t necessarily do this, but an important rule is if you’re targeting a particular segment, you don’t want to do that at the expense of offending other segments.”

He likened the furore to the infamous annual Australia Day lamb ads, which last year targeted meat eaters “but offended the vegan segment by inflaming their bowl of kale”.

“There’s a danger that by really appealing to one segment, you may be offending another,” he warned.

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Having developed marketing video content for more than 20 years, I am always keeping a close eye on emerging trends. Ten years ago, brand films were all the rage. Five years ago, it was whiteboard videos. In 2017, the standout candidate is, without question, explainer videos.

When done correctly, explainer videos are similar to the old school elevator pitch our parents actually embraced (or endured, depending on the situation), and they can open many new doors. Their content, style and length closely mirror this timeless, nostalgic reference.

These days, it’s important to look at videos in general, and explainer videos in particular, like a reality TV show obstacle course. Getting viewers to the finish line is tougher than ever, as evidenced by these revealing statistics:

• Approximately 20% of the people who start your video will leave after the first 10 seconds.
• Only 65% of video viewers watch more than three-quarters of a video.
• Nearly two-thirds of consumers prefer videos under 60 seconds.
  

Despite these rather daunting figures, explainer videos have evolved into a “must have” when it comes to increasing conversions and building brand awareness.

So how do you create the conditions where you can tell a great brand story and get the highest number of viewers to watch your video all the way to end? Beyond the obvious first step of defining your audience for this type of video, there are three main areas you’ll need to focus your efforts on.

1. Clearly define the “why.” This is the part of the client conversation that often takes the longest to get synced up on but it’s also the most crucial. All too often, the desire is to talk about product features and the granular detail that can go along with them. If you want to truly capture a potential customer’s attention, you need to address why your product matters to them. This speaks to its soul and it’s what creates an emotional connection with customers. Usually, the “why” of your offering comes in the form of benefits, not product or service features. For example, instead of talking about the resolution of your $4,000 TV display and its built-in surround sound speakers to potential customers, a much better approach would be to convey the great memories they’ll have with their family through an immersive theatrical experience in the cozy confines of their home. The “why” translates well with customers: “Why do I need this TV? Because my family will have that same amazing feeling we had in a theater!”
2. Limit the takeaways. All too often, I see clients wanting to cram every last detail of a 25-slide presentation into a 60- to 90-second video. It’s important to remember that audiences are being bombarded with video content in 2017. And this is a trend that is exponentially growing, with IP video traffic representing 82% of all global consumer internet traffic by 2020.  To have your message stand out, it will need to be engaging in style and very focused.

   A good rule to follow is what I refer to as the golden rule of halves. Simply explained, after you’ve taken a first pass at a script for your video, remove half the words. Then do this again. So if you had 600 words to begin with, you would end up with 150 (for reference, a 60-second video is approximately 120 to 130 words and a 90-second video is approximately 180 to 190 words). The point of this exercise is to be as efficient as possible. At the end of the day, this will force you to limit the takeaways. The upside is that, by doing so, your message will have a much better chance of resonating with your target audience. Remember, your audience is swimming in video content all day long.

3. Prioritize your message. Even if you develop a truly groundbreaking video with a killer creative concept and on-point messaging, there will still be (as mentioned above), significant viewer atrophy after the first 10 seconds of your video. So prioritizing your message points is critical. Stick to the inverted pyramid formula that journalists often adhere to, where the most newsworthy info is mentioned first. Often what works best is to quickly state the challenge your target audience is facing (three sentences is a reasonable goal to pursue here). Then quickly get to the solution and explain it in ways that address the “why” that will matter to your audience. Demonstrate the benefits of your offering and why your target audience will flip out over its awesomeness.

If your video will be making the social media rounds, a key consideration will be the need for your explainer video to address the muted video implementation. For instance, even with the option to turn the sound on, 85% of Facebook videos are watched without sound. Long story short, descriptive text will be needed so viewers can easily follow along if they have the sound turned off.

Another critical consideration is the style of video. The go-to creative treatment for the last few years has largely been animation. However, to truly stand out, remember that you can also try concepts that feature client testimonials, infographics, typographic treatments, character animation or even photo-based animations (be sure to peruse Vimeo, which not only features great creative but also has fantastic search tools). Remember, in 2017, video will be everywhere, so differentiation will be paramount.

Of course, the $64,000 question has to do with video length. Honestly, it’s something that everyone needs to tune out to some degree. The harsh reality is that if 20% of viewers are checking out at the 10-second point in 2017, that percentage may double in another year. A much better strategy would be to focus on the “why” driving your product or service and to embrace a video style that best hammers this home.

It’s a real jungle out there but if you stick to the soul of your brand, you might just rack up thousands of views and see your video roar online. Unless, of course, the mute button is on.

Sen. Kirsten GillibrandKirsten GillibrandSenators tear into Marines on nude photo scandal Senators want more security funding for Jewish centers Senate panel schedules open hearing on Marines’ nude-photo scandal MORE (D-N.Y.) was furious at the head of the Marine Corps during a hearing Tuesday on the nude photo sharing scandal rocking the service, raising her voice at the commandant when asking why no one has been held accountable since the first reports of online harassment came to light in 2013.

Frustration at the lack of progress addressing the issue was palpable among the entire Senate Armed Services Committee, while the New York lawmaker who has made combatting military sexual assault a key focus of her tenure tore in Gen. Robert Neller, demanding to know why nothing has been done.

“I have to say when you say to us it’s got to be different, that rings hollow,” Gillibrand said. “I don’t know what you mean when you say that. Why does it have to different? Because you, all of a sudden, feel it has to be different? Who has been held accountable? … Who has been held responsible? Have you actually investigated and found guilty anybody?

« If we can’t crack Facebook, how are we supposed to be able to confront Russian aggression and cyber hacking throughout our military? It is a serious problem when we have members of our military denigrating female Marines who will give their life to this country in the way they have with no response from leadership. I can tell you your answers today are unsatisfactory. They do not go far enough.”

Neller responded by taking responsibility, but said he couldn’t provide an answer to Gillibrand.

“I don’t have a good answer for you,” Neller said. “I’m not going to sit here and duck around this thing. I’m not. I’m responsible. I’m the commandant. I own this. And we are going to have to, and I know you’ve heard it before, but we’re going to have to change how we see ourselves and how we do, how we treat each other.

« That’s a lame answer, but ma’am, that’s the best I can tell you right now. We’ve got to change. And that’s on me.”

The committee heard testimony Tuesday from Neller, acting Navy Secretary Sean Stackley and Sgt. Maj. Ronald Green about “Marines United,” a 30,000 person Facebook group where Marines allegedly shared nude photos of female Marines. Some of the photos where taken and posted without the women’s knowledge and some of the comments on the page allegedly include rape threats.

The page was first revealed by nonprofit military news organization The War Horse, and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service is now investigating Marines involved.

Tuesday’s testimony provided a couple new details in the case: Investigators believe that just 500 or so members of the Facebook group participated in the behavior being investigated now, and NCIS has received 53 calls on its tip line so far.

Neller also told the committee that he’s visiting Camp Lejeune, N.C., on Wednesday to directly speak to Marines about the issue.

Gillibrand highlighted a 2013 letter from Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) to then-Defense Secretary Chuck HagelChuck HagelSenators tear into Marines on nude photo scandal Lobbying World Who will temper Trump after he takes office? MORE and then-Marines Commandant Gen. James Amos that talked about a number of Facebook pages on which male Marines were denigrating female Marines.

“There’s no mystery that this has been going on for a very long time,” she said. “It was right in front of you and the command to do something about since 2013.”

She also expressed anger that commanders have argued for years to keep the power to decide whether to prosecute sexual assault and other serious crimes, while not addressing the issue. Gillibrand has tried unsuccessfully for years to take such decisions away from commanders and give them to independent military prosecutors.

“You have demanded they maintain control of all these issues,” she said. “But where’s the accountability for failure? Who’s been held accountable for doing nothing since 2013? Who? Which commander?”

Other members of the committee — male and female, Republican and Democrat — expressed similar frustrations.

“I appreciate your statements and the statements of everyone here about needing to address this issue,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen Jeanne ShaheenDem senator hopes to tie defense spending bill to visas for Afghans who helped US troops Dem senator: Justice Department should investigate RT America Senators tear into Marines on nude photo scandal MORE (D-N.H.) said. “But understand that this committee has heard those kinds of statements for as long as I’ve been on the committee and I think much longer. So, it’s hard to believe that something is really going to be done when we hear this repeated again and again, and we see these kinds of situations again and again.”

Shortly afterward, Sen. Deb FischerDeb FischerSenators tear into Marines on nude photo scandal Five takeaways from the Scott Pruitt emails A guide to the committees: Senate MORE (R-Neb.) said the behavior has “gone on for too long,” while Sen. Richard BlumenthalRichard BlumenthalSenators tear into Marines on nude photo scandal Dems launch attacks ahead of Supreme Court showdown Senate Dems introduce bill to block Trump’s revised travel order MORE (D-Conn.) called the behavior “despicable and disgusting.”

“I think also many of us share the passion and impatience that Sen. Gillibrand expressed very powerfully because there have been instances in the past,” he added. “And your acknowledgement that perhaps the past violations of trust and law have not been addressed significantly aggressively may give us some comfortable here, but I think we’re all going to watch closely.”

Sen. Lindsey GrahamLindsey GrahamSenators tear into Marines on nude photo scandal Trump to draw battle lines with his budget GOP does damage control over healthcare score MORE (R-S.C.) later called the scandal “devastatingly bad” for recruitment of female Marines and labeled it “one of the darkest chapters in the history of the Marine Corps.”

Sen. Claire McCaskillClaire McCaskillSenators tear into Marines on nude photo scandal Key Dem wants details on Trump team’s ethics compliance Democrats’ Russia obsession overshadows fact that Trump’s America is looking up MORE (D-Mo.) said the Corps could deter the behavior by taking action against the Marines it has evidence on.

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“If you go after the active Marines that you have evidence on and if they are dishonorable discharged,” she said, “that will begin to send the signal that many of us up here are desperate for you to send.”

NEW YORK — A monster nor’easter is pummeling parts of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast and is making its way towards northern New England on Tuesday.

The late winter storm prompted officials to close schools across the region and urge people to stay off the roads.

The National Weather Service is forecasting a foot to 20 inches of snow across Maine and New Hampshire and most of Vermont. The storm has already caused headaches for residents and travelers.

More than 5,400 flights were cancelled Tuesday alone, including more than 2,800 in the New York City area, where about 200 passengers were stranded at Kennedy Airport. 

Amtrak canceled or modified service up and down the Northeast Corridor, with train service suspended between New York City and Boston on Tuesday morning. Above-ground portions of the New York subway system were shut down, but underground trains continued operating.

• Dozens of cars in several chain reaction snow-related pileups
• This house in upstate New York is completely encased in ice

In the nation’s capital, the federal government announced a three-hour delayed arrival for non-emergency employees, with an option to take the day off or telecommute. 

What may turn out to be the biggest snowstorm of the season struck just six days before the official arrival of spring, which for many can’t come soon enough.

For the latest developments on the storm, refresh this page throughout the day.

3 p.m.

The Boston Herald’s Jeff Walsh uploaded video of a tractor trailer slide and spin on the Zakim Bridge during the winter storm.

Another video angle of the accident was posted to Twitter:

CBS Boston reports that officials declared a blizzard in the city of Worcester on Tuesday afternoon.

A blizzard is defined as:

• Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35+ mph
• “Considerable” falling and/or blowing snow
• Visibility reduced to less than ¼ mile for 3+ hours

2:10 p.m.

Tens of thousands of homes and businesses in Massachusetts lost power by midday as snow and high winds pummeled the state, CBS Boston reports.

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency says at least 62,000 customers were without electricity at its peak. The agency noted a huge jump in the number of outages around noon, mostly in Worcester, where there was a substation breaker problem, and Plymouth, where a transmission line issue was to blame. There are also some outages in Medford and Everett.

2 p.m.

Police say a 16-year-old girl has been killed in a traffic accident in New Hampshire after losing control of her car on a snowy road and hitting a tree.

A late-winter storm featuring snow, ice and high winds has caused dangerous driving conditions from the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast.

New Hampshire State police say the accident happened about 7 a.m. Tuesday in Gilford. The girl was transported to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Her identity was being withheld until her family could be notified.

Around the region, officials have urged people to stay off the roads. Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy imposed a travel ban on state roads but says he expects to end it later Tuesday as the storm winds down.

1:45 p.m.

Strong winds have toppled a wind turbine at a Rhode Island beach.

Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo says the wind knocked over the turbine at Salty Brine Beach in Narragansett on Tuesday. It’s owned by the state Department of Environmental Management.

A photo of the turbine posted by the town’s emergency management agency showed the turbine’s metal base twisted and bent over the snow-covered beach.

Raimondo says no one was hurt and the state will fix it once the storm is over.

Winds in the area are gusting up to 55 mph.

Approximately 215,000 customers were without power Tuesday from Virginia to New England.

12:05 p.m.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio held a briefing on the city’s storm response and says that a state of emergency will stay in effect until midnight, describing the storm as “very dangerous as we get into the late afternoon and early evening hours.”

De Blasio warned that temperatures will be frigid Tuesday evening and that there’s a risk of refreezing, making streets and sidewalks even more hazardous. 

The mayor said at least 96 percent of city streets have been plowed at least once. He thanked residents for using mass transit as that allowed sanitation officials to do their job.

Schools will be open on Wednesday.

“The situation now is under control and we are certain that we will be in a position to open schools effectively tomorrow,” de Blasio said.

12:00 p.m.

The storm that’s pounding parts of the Northeast has dropped almost 2 feet of snow in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains and the northern reaches of New Jersey, yet it didn’t perform to forecast expectations in New York City, the rest of New Jersey and Philadelphia.

That’s because the line between a rainy wintry mix and snow ended up farther west than anticipated.

The rain-snow line on Tuesday was a 50-mile wide swath where cold Arctic air from the north and west clashed with warm moist air from the Atlantic Ocean.

Private meteorologist Ryan Maue of Weather Bell Analytics says it’s tough to forecast the location of the line, because it undulates and computers models only have a few data points over a width of 50 miles. He also says much of the storm is over the Atlantic Ocean, where fewer observations can be made.

Maue and other experts say missing where the rain-snow line winds up doesn’t make the blizzard forecast a bust.

11:20 a.m.

The winter storm pelting the northeast with snow, sleet and high winds is disrupting some local elections in New Hampshire.

Tuesday is New Hampshire’s traditional Town Meeting Day, when voters in more than 100 communities elect boards of selectman, library trustees and other local positions.

A number of towns rescheduled their elections, but others have stayed open, on schedule.

Republican Gov. Chris Sununu had said those who rescheduled their elections risked lawsuits alleging voter suppression, but also said that given differing opinions, the state isn’t in a position to mandate that the towns stay open.

Sununu’s town, Newfields, postponed its elections until Tuesday, March 21, saying the safety of voters and election workers is “paramount.”

11 a.m.

Broadway producers in New York City have decided to keep theaters open Tuesday night for the hardy folks willing to brave snow and sleet from a late-season storm hitting the Northeast.

More than two dozen shows will play as scheduled, including “Hamilton,” ‘’Dear Evan Hansen” and “Waitress.”

Charlotte St. Martin, president of The Broadway League , says that for visitors who can’t get home, it’s a great time to see a show.

Tuesday’s storm was bringing less snow than forecast to New York City, but had caused more than 5,000 flight cancellations, and was hitting areas of upstate New York and elsewhere hard.

The last time Broadway was shuttered was in January 2016, when New York was hit with a one-day record of 26.6 inches of snow.

10:30 a.m.

Parts of Atlantic City and other towns in southern New Jersey are dealing with tidal flooding from the nor’easter.

A homeowner posted video on Twitter of water streaming down the block, and one major roadway was closed because of the flooding.

The tide reached 7.8 feet in Atlantic City on Tuesday morning, just short of the 8-foot threshold that can lead to major flooding.

More than 35,000 customers are without power in New Jersey because of the storm. More than 100,000 customers in other states stretching down to Virginia also are without electricity.

Southern New Jersey did not get much snow, but a blizzard warning is in effect in the northwest part of the state.

10:05 a.m.

Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy called it a “good day to make brownies … or read a book,” and stay off the roads.

The winter storm hitting the Northeast is forecast to dump as much as 2 feet of snow on parts of Connecticut on Tuesday, with possibly more in higher elevations.

Malloy says most people seem to be following a travel ban he imposed in the state. All flights to and from Bradley International Airport north of Hartford have been canceled, and transit bus service has been suspended statewide.

State police and the National Guard were ready to help stranded motorists, and utility companies were prepared to respond to power outages.

More than 120,000 customers had lost power from Virginia to New Jersey. Virginia and Maryland had the largest numbers of outages reported.

9:45 a.m.

Parts of Atlantic City and other towns in southern New Jersey are dealing with tidal flooding from the winter nor’easter. CBS News correspondent Anna Werner reports storm surge is a major concern in coastal communities that were battered by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

One homeowner posted video on Twitter of water streaming down their block and one major roadway was closed due to the flooding.

The tide reached 7.8 feet in Atlantic City Tuesday morning, just short of the 8-foot threshold that can lead to major flooding. 

Residents were keeping an eye on high tide between 9:15 a.m. and 10:15 a.m.

Route 322 in West Atlantic City was shut down, as were some smaller streets around the area.

The flooding comes as more than 10,000 customers are without power in New Jersey. Wind gusts of more than 30 mph were reported, whipping rain, sleet and snow.

Southern New Jersey did not get much snow from the storm, but a blizzard warning is in effect in the northwest part of the state.

9 a.m.

More than 10,000 customers are without power in New Jersey as a winter nor’easter blasts parts of the state with wind gusts of more than 30 mph and whipping rain, sleet and snow.

Both Atlantic City Electric and PSEG were reporting more than 5,000 without power Tuesday morning.

The National Weather Service says warm air on Tuesday has brought about a rapid change of the precipitation to sleet and rain south of Interstate 195.

A blizzard warning is in effect in the northwest part of the state, where forecasters say there is still the potential for a foot or more snow.

Driving conditions are slippery, but traffic is lighter than usual.

8:45 a.m.

Nearly 100,000 customers are without power in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, as a late-winter storm brings a mix of snow and sleet with strong winds.

Dominion Power reports more than 50,000 customers in the dark in Virginia on Tuesday morning, with more than 40,000 of those outages in the Richmond area.

Maryland officials report about 30,000 outages. Thousands more were reported in Delaware, New Jersey and around Philadelphia.

Blizzard warnings have been issued for parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont. The blizzard warning was lifted a short time ago for New York City as the forecast shifted there to a mix of snow and sleet with up to 8 inches of accumulation.

The storm is expected to dump 12 to 18 inches of snow along a large swath of the region. Parts of New England could see snow totals of 18 inches to 2 ½ feet.

8:15 a.m.

U.S. airlines have scrapped about 5,400 flights Tuesday as some of the nation’s busiest airports were snowed in. Tracking service FlightAware.com says Tuesday’s cancellations bring the total for the week to around 7,740 flights. 

Southwest Airlines, which carries more domestic passengers than any other airline, doesn’t expect to operate any flights Tuesday at 14 airports stretching from Washington to Portland, Maine. Southwest cancelled about 900 flights, while American Airlines, JetBlue Airways and United Airlines each cancelled more than 500.

An additional 650 flights have been cancelled for Wednesday, a number that FlightAware expects to rise as the airlines scramble to resume operations. 

7:15 a.m.

Attorney generals in New York and Pennsylvania have issued a warning about price-gouging during the snowstorm.

Eric Schneiderman in New York says consumers should contact his office about “excessive increases” in the price of goods and services. Examples include food, water, gas, generators, hotels and transportation.

The price-gouging law also could apply to snow removal and equipment, salt and contractor services for storm-related damage.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro also alerted consumers and businesses about potential scams, urging people to report any “suspicious activity” about home repairs, snow plowing, government assistance programs and fraudulent disaster-related fundraising to his office’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

7 a.m.

Hundreds of school districts from Buffalo to New York City have cancelled classes and authorities are advising people to stay off the roads as a nor’easter starts to pummel the Northeast.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has declared a state of emergency Tuesday for all of New York’s 62 counties, including New York City’s five boroughs. The Democrat also directed non-essential state employees to stay home from work.

The National Weather Service says the storm will drop more than a foot of snow across much of the upstate region, with some areas getting up to 18 inches and higher elevations in the lower Hudson Valley expected to get 2 feet or more.

Blizzard warnings have been issued for much of the region south of Albany, where high winds could produce whiteout conditions

6:30 a.m.

The National Weather Service says the dividing line between snow and a wintry mix from a nor’easter pushing through the southern New Jersey-Pennsylvania region has moved farther inland, cutting down the anticipated snow accumulation, but increasing the chance of icing.

NWS Meteorologist Sarah Johnson, in Mount Holly, New Jersey, says the dividing line between snow and a mix of snow, sleet and rain has pushed west, from the Jersey coast into Philadelphia. She says that lowers anticipated snow totals, but increases the threat of icing from sleet and freezing rain along the Interstate 95 corridor.

While the snow totals might be lower, Johnson warns that New Jersey shore areas can still expect strong winds, with gusts between 50 and 55 mph. The I-95 corridor could get wind gusts of up to 40 mph.

6 a.m.

Rain, sleet and snow are sweeping across New Jersey as a late-winter storm slows the morning commute.

State government offices are closed Tuesday and non-essential employees were told to stay home after Republican Gov. Chris Christie declared a state of emergency. Many schools are closed.

Plows are on the highways and the speed limit is restricted to 45 mph on the Garden State Parkway between Cape May and Brick Township.

NJ Transit has suspended bus service and all trains, except for the Atlantic City Rail Line, are operating on a weekend schedule.

A blizzard warning is in effect, basically north of Interstate 195. Forecasters say 18 to 24 inches of snow are possible. A winter storm warning covers other portions of the state, save for coastal south Jersey.

4 a.m.

A late-season snowstorm has prompted the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to allow a 3-hour delayed arrival for non-emergency employees at federal offices in and around the nation’s capital.

OPM also announced early Tuesday that non-emergency federal employees also have the option to take unscheduled leave or to conduct unscheduled telework.

For those non-emergency workers headed to offices, the agency told them on its website that they “should plan to arrive for work no more than three hours later than they would be expected to arrive.”

The agency added that emergency federal employees in the Washington, D.C., area are expected to report on time unless otherwise directed by their agencies. Emergency and telework-ready employees should follow their agency’s policies, the office added.

2:35 a.m.

A winter storm expected to dump several inches of snow on Delaware made an impact even before it arrived: Delaware lawmakers decided to scrap plans to reconvene a key budget committee hearing Tuesday after a weekslong break.

In Newark, Delaware, authorities declared a snow emergency effective early Tuesday, ordering residents and businesses on snow emergency routes to remove all vehicles from the street to avoid being towed. The city also announced a two-hour delayed opening for city offices.

Forecasters expect between 8 and 12 inches of snow in some areas of Delaware, while areas near the Atlantic seaboard faced a threat of coastal flooding.

2 a.m.

The snow threat in the Northeast is causing college basketball teams to alter their travel plans.

Teams chasing a college basketball title are contending with an unexpected wrinkle that’s making last-minute travel plans difficult — a fierce storm bearing down on the Northeast that could dump up to two feet of snow in some places.

“We are closely tracking the weather and working with our travel partners and teams in the tournament to ensure the safety of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators, officials and fans,” the NCAA said in a statement.

Villanova, top overall seed in the men’s NCAA Tournament, left Philadelphia on Monday afternoon for Buffalo, New York, to get ahead of the storm.

There is less of a chance that the women’s tournament would be affected. UConn is the only Northeast team hosting and they play Saturday, giving teams more time to arrive in Connecticut.

U.S. airlines canceled thousands of flights ahead of the storm. Teams in the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments have chartered flights so any backlog on commercial planes shouldn’t be a problem.

Vice President Mike Pence and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price came to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to try to salvage the Republican plan to revise the Affordable Care Act, whose chances of passing the House are becoming increasingly slim.

Both conservative and moderate lawmakers in the House and the Senate attacked Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) health-care plan Tuesday after congressional budget analysts found it would dramatically increase the number of uninsured Americans while raising premium costs in the short term.

The reaction from Republican hard-liners to the Congressional Budget Office report cast doubt on the viability of the American Health Care Act, Ryan’s proposal to revise Obamacare, which could receive a House vote within two weeks.

Exiting the Tuesday lunch in the Capitol that Price and Pence attended, Senate Republican leaders sought to head off concerns about the CBO’s projected steep decrease in the number of people who would have health insurance under the House GOP plan. 

« Regarding the projection of fewer people purchasing, I think that’s the inevitable result of the government not making you purchase something you may not want, » said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). « And so we are hoping to have a more vibrant market that will attract a greater number of people to actually be able to buy, at an affordable cost, insurance that actually makes sense for them rather than one prescribed by the government. »

McConnell said he planned to bring the House bill straight to the Senate floor, should it clear the lower chamber. He said it would « open for amendment » under special budget rules. 

The GOP legislation faces an important test Thursday, when the House Budget Committee will meet to combine pieces passed by separate committees into a single bill and advance it to the House floor. The Budget panel cannot make substantive changes to the bill, but it can make nonbinding recommendations before it goes to the floor for a final vote. If the bill is in serious trouble, the cracks are likely to show in that meeting.

Joining the Senate GOP lunch were some of the architects of the House measure, including House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Tex.).

As the meeting neared it’s conclusion, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), the head of the House Freedom Caucus whose members have balked that the legislation does not go far enough, was seen walking down hallway near the room where the lunch was held. Support of the Freedom Caucus members is key to the bill’s House prospects.
« We’ve got some work to do, still, » said Meadows,
Meadows added that he has received « no assurances » from the White House or anyone else about changes to the bill to entice him to support it. But he added he was having « good conversations » about « Medicaid, essential health benefits and the mandates, all three of those. »
It was not a foregone conclusion Tuesday that the bill would advance, however. Republicans hold an eight-vote advantage over Democrats on the Budget Committee, and if four GOP members oppose it, the bill could stall. Three of the 22 Republicans on the panel are members of the House Freedom Caucus, the hard-line conservative bloc that has urged changes to the bill. 
Aides to those three members — Reps. Dave Brat (Va.), Gary Palmer (Ala.) and Mark Sanford (S.C.) — did not respond to inquiries Tuesday about whether they intended to support the legislation in committee. Two other Budget Republicans, Reps. John Faso (N.Y.) and Bruce Westerman (Ark.), said Tuesday that they were undecided on their committee votes.

Though the bill is projected to lower the federal budget deficit over the next decade and produce a 10 percent average decrease in premiums after that, skeptics on the right remain unconvinced that it would go far enough in pulling back elements of the Affordable Care Act.

“This bill doesn’t repeal Obamacare,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a member of the House Freedom Caucus, told “Fox Friends” on Tuesday morning.

“This bill doesn’t unite Republicans. This bill doesn’t bring down the cost of premiums. . . . There’s a reason every major conservative organization in the country is opposed to this legislation.”

View Graphic What’s next for the Obamacare replacement bill

Meanwhile, the White House pushed back on a Politico report that its internal analysis on the impact of the AHCA showed an even steeper loss of health insurance than was calculated by the CBO.

“This story is totally misleading,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer tweeted. “The projection was an estimate of what CBO would conclude. It was not a [White House] analysis.”

The CBO report predicted that 24 million fewer people would have health insurance in a decade under the AHCA compared with the current system. According to Politico, the White House analysis found that 26 million more people would go without coverage under the GOP bill.

White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said the Office of Management and Budget, which produced the document reviewed by Politico, can’t do coverage estimates.

“I don’t know if the document exists because I haven’t seen it,” he told the host of CNN’s “New Day.” “If it does exist, you just confirmed what I said, which is that we don’t have the ability to do [those estimates] independently at the OMB.”

Mulvaney continued the administration’s assault on the credibility of the CBO, calling its analyses “deeply flawed.”

Referring to the snowstorm hammering the East Coast, he said, “According to the CBO, it’s sunny and 75 degrees this morning.”

“This is exactly what we thought the CBO would come forward with,” he said of Monday’s coverage-loss projection. “They’re terrible at counting coverage.”

The White House plans to commence a new round of outreach to skeptical Republican senators on Tuesday. Vice President Pence and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price plan to attend Senate Republicans’ weekly policy luncheon, congressional and White House aides said. Price may also meet individually with lawmakers.

Later in the afternoon, members of the Senate Steering Committee, a conservative coalition chaired by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), will meet with President Trump’s team at the White House, the aides said.

Trump will also speak about health care with Ryan and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) by phone at 4 p.m. Tuesday, the White House schedule stated.

In the Senate, the bill is taking heat from both ends of the political spectrum. Moderate Republicans from states that expanded Medicaid have voiced concerns that the measure does not protect those who obtained coverage through that expansion strongly enough.

“These kinds of estimates are going to cause revisions in the bill, almost certainly,” Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Tuesday of the CBO report.

“I don’t think that the bill that is being considered now is the bill that ultimately will be the one that we vote on in the Senate.”

On the right, conservatives have complained that the bill is not a forceful enough repeal of the Obama administration’s health-care law.

Lee, along with Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), has been the chief conservative critic of the law, urging GOP leaders to do more.

“There is a solution for House Leaders that conservatives have offered: abandon Obamacare Lite now,” Paul wrote Tuesday on Twitter.

“It is bad law it can’t pass. If House leaders try do a little less using the same basic framework as the failed Obamacare experiment, then it will fail too.”

That opposition, along with growing Senate Republican calls for the House to slow its pace of advancing the legislation though its chamber, has left significant uncertainty about whether the bill can even pass the upper chamber, should it advance from the House. A growing number of Republicans believe it will have to undergo significant changes in one or both chambers to survive.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a physician and strong Affordable Care Act critic, sounded apprehensive about the CBO report’s implications.

“President Trump said that he wants as many people covered as under Obamacare,” Cassidy said Monday. “He said that health care should be affordable. If there’s 14 million people losing insurance, of course it’s concerning. I try to avoid hyperbole and adjectives, but it’s concerning.”

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) again urged House leaders to “pause” and take seriously the CBO’s projections on coverage and premiums.

“They’re right that coverage levels will go down in the coming years under the House bill,” Cotton said of the CBO during an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Tuesday morning.

“They’re also right, I’m afraid, that insurance premiums will continue to go up in the near term, for three to four years, before they start perhaps falling in the long term.”

Cotton added that GOP critics of the bill “come from all stripes.”

“They’re not just hard-line conservatives. Many of them are centrists, or many of them are just being practical-minded about this bill, the way I am. Just from a practical standpoint, I don’t think this bill is going to reduce premiums for working Americans. I think it’s going to cost coverage for many Americans as the CBO said yesterday,” Cotton said.

One of those GOP skeptics, Rep. Rob Wittman (Va.), announced Monday that he would oppose the bill.

“I do believe that we can enact meaningful health care reforms that put the patient and health care provider back at the center of our health care system, but this bill is not the right answer,” he wrote in a Facebook post.

Wittman’s stance could represent a new front of House Republican dissent. A six-term member who leads a House Armed Services subcommittee and represents a district that favored Trump by 12 percentage points, Wittman is neither a hard-right firebrand nor a wary moderate from a Medicaid expansion state. Rather, he is the sort of mainstream conservative that Ryan is counting on to toe the party line and pass the bill.

Ryan (R-Wis.), meanwhile, said in a Fox News interview Monday that the report “exceeded” his expectations, and he jumped on its prediction of a smaller deficit to try to assuage conservatives, many of whom oppose the idea of new tax credits to help some Americans buy coverage on their own.

Declaring that the plans would usher in “the most fundamental entitlement reform in a generation,” Ryan said the legislation “is about giving people more choices and better access to a plan they want and can afford. When people have more choices, costs go down. That’s what this report shows.”

McCarthy sought to further this argument on Tuesday, telling Fox News that the AHCA is only one piece of a three-step reform process.

“Remember, the CBO can only score what’s in front of them. This is one of three phases. So they’re not even able to look at what the second and third phase does,” McCarthy said.

Cotton rejected this reasoning in his interview with Hewitt.

“There is no three-phase process,” he said. “There is no three-step plan. That is just political talk. It’s just politicians engaging in spin. . . . There is not going to be phase three legislation. It’s phase one and done.”

Nevertheless, a group closely aligned with House Republican leaders hit the airwaves Tuesday with a new round of television ads defending 15 House GOP lawmakers for moving to overhaul the ACA, a $1.5 million investment that coincides with the release of the CBO forecast and reflects the potential political vulnerability of House Republicans.

The American Action Network is running 30-second advertisements asking viewers to “thank” the GOP lawmakers for living up to their promise of “replacing the Affordable Care Act with the better health care you deserve.” The ads do not use the word “repeal,” even though the GOP has long used that language in campaign rhetoric and the House bill would repeal key parts of the ACA.

House Republicans’ proposal to rewrite federal health-care law would more than reverse the gains the ACA has made in the number of Americans with health coverage and nearly double the share of uninsured people from 10 percent to 19 percent in 10 years, the CBO found. The number of uninsured people would jump 14 million after the first year alone.

Premiums would be 15 to 20 percent higher in the first year compared with under the ACA but 10 percent lower on average after 2026, the report stated. By and large, older Americans would pay “substantially” more and younger Americans less.

The 37-page report provided the most tangible evidence to date of the human and fiscal impact of the House GOP plan and called into question Trump’s pledge that no Americans would lose coverage when it came time to replace Obamacare.

On Tuesday, Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Charles E. Schumer joined Doctors for America, a pro-ACA group that grew out of the 2008 Obama campaign, for a news conference with voters who would lose coverage under the GOP plan.

“Stress is the last thing anyone needs when they are sick, and this bill is causing people a lot of stress,” said Pelosi, who called the proposal a “reverse Robin Hood stunt.”

“They’re saving $33 billion a year and they’re cutting off 26 million people from health care,” she said. “It’s just not a good investment. . . . They should just pull the plug on this bill.”

Schumer lit into Republicans for questioning the CBO’s estimate, pointing out that the CBO’s director, Keith Hall, was plucked out of the right-leaning Mercatus Center and praised by the GOP up until it was clear that the AHCA would get an unfavorable score.

“The only winners in this CBO report are health insurance executives and the wealthiest Americans,” Schumer said. “It’s classic Trump: Talks like a populist, but when he acts, it’s hard right.”

Abby Phillip, Sean Sullivan and David Weigel contributed to this report.

Read more at PowerPost

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