Mark Memmott

Good morning.

Residents from North Carolina up through New England are beginning the long process of recovering from Hurricane Irene, which we followed through the weekend and earlier today.

We'll keep an eye out for more stories about the storm and its aftermath. Meanwhile, other major news of the day includes:

Hurricane Irene is gone, but she won't be forgotten anytime soon.

As NPR's Larry Abramson said today on Morning Edition, "Irene did not turn out to be the storm of the century" and many beach towns "were stunned by how lucky they were."

"I can't make you ... I'm not going to arrest you."

But please, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) just told 600 senior citizens who live in Atlantic City: Let the state evacuate you before Hurricane Irene slams into the high-rise buildings where you live.

The residents have so far refused to leave.

Christie said the state is going to send buses to the seniors' buildings in the hopes they can be convinced to go to inland shelters.

"Let us walk you downstairs and put you on those buses," he added.

The first deaths in the U.S. related to Hurricane Irene to be reported come from North Carolina.

The Raleigh News & Observer writes that:

Hoping to convince anyone who is ignoring the mandatory evacuation orders for those living in New York City's low-lying areas, Mayor Michael Bloomberg just warned that if anyone hasn't already moved to higher ground, "you have to start right now."