Officials have urged residents to use common sense to deal with Hurricane Sandy, what has been called an unprecedented weather event, that has closed schools and government offices and left people up and down the East Coast preparing for power outages and collapsed roofs before a single raindrop fell.

D.C. Department of Public Works employees, including Monique Hicks, right, load sand bags into District residents' cars outside of Coolidge High School in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012. DPW handed out some 10,000 bags at RFK on Saturday and had 5,500 more to hand out on Sunday. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

The tragedy of Benghazi, where a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans were killed, seemed a cut-and-dried story in the days after a mob attacked the State Department's mission in eastern Libya. Today, the public knows that those early administration pronouncements were false.

N.J. Gov. Chris Christie and Britain's Prince Harry began a tour of New Jersey’s storm-damaged coastline, inspecting dune construction, walking past destroyed homes and shaking hands with police and other emergency workers.

The names of four American servicemen, formerly listed as MIA, are added to the wall of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Troops serving in Afghanistan go for months without the comforts of home and seeing loved ones regularly — something that can be felt more deeply on Mother's Day.

Reservists attached to the 459th Air Refueling Wing prepare at Joint Base Andrews, Md., for their upcoming deployment to southwest Asia.

State Department officials testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about the Sept. 11, 2012, attack in Benghazi, Libya.

The annual Blue Mass is held St. Patrick Catholic Church, Washington, D.C., to pray for those in law enforcement and fire safety and marking the beginning of National Police Week.

Photographs from the National Rifle Association's 142nd Annual Meetings and Exhibits in the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas.

The newest additions to the Washington Redskins report for rookie minicamp Sunday in Ashburn, Va.

The annual Cinco de Mayo celebration is held on the National Mall in Washington.

Wildfires wreak havoc in California as firefighters scramble to protect property — and lives.

The final piece of the spire is hoisted to the roof of One World Trade Center in New York, capping the tower at 1,776 feet.

Authorities arrested three more suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing case on charges that they removed suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s backpack and laptop from his dorm room three days after the April 15 attack in a bid to frustrate the investigation.

The names of Prince William County Police Officer Chris Yung and National Park Ranger Margaret Anderson are unveiled on the National Law Enforcement Memorial, Washington, D.C.

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington commemorates its 20th anniversary and pays tribute to Holocaust survivors and World War II veterans.

The annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner was held Saturday night at the Washington Hilton Hotel.

Five American presidents gather for the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Head Stone Mason Joe Alonso shows the progress of repairs to the Washington National Cathedral after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake in August of 2011.

Slideshow: Screenshots from Dead Island: Riptide (Deep Silver and Techland)