Mark Memmott

Good morning.

The death toll from Hurricane Irene and its aftermath continues to rise, as we reported earlier. There are now 40 confirmed deaths.

The news that ousted Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's wife and three of his children have fled to Algeria underscores "the biggest fear" for many Libyans, NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro reports from Tripoli — that Gadhafi will elude capture and that his forces will continue to battle for weeks, months or perhaps years.

The death toll from Hurricane Irene and the storm's aftermath continues to grow. As the day begins, The Associated Press says there are now 40 confirmed fatalities — up from 35 as of Monday afternoon. And, the AP adds, towns in New England continued to battle "epic floods and millions faced the dispiriting prospect of several days without electricity."

"As the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaches, a comprehensive public opinion survey finds no indication of increased alienation or anger among Muslim Americans in response to concerns about home-grown Islamic terrorists, controversies about the building of mosques and other pressures that have been brought to bear on this high-profile minority group in recent years," the Pew Research Center reports today.

A somber update from The Associated Press:

"Hurricane Irene has led to the deaths of at least 35 people in 10 states."

The wire service says:

-- Two deaths have been reported in Connecticut. An 89-year-old woman died in a fire started by downed power lines, and a 46-year-old man drowned when his canoe capsized on a flooded street.