Blog Posts by Max Zimbert

Join reporters and editors from Yahoo! and ABC News as we cover Samsung's Unpacked event live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

From the wacky to the serious, there are more than 170 measures on ballots in 38 states on Election Day 2012, according to the Initiative and Referendum Institute at the University of Southern California.

Here are five intriguing ballot measures that will be put to voters on Election Day.

California: Genetically modified ingredients

California's Proposition 37 just might be the biggest roll of the dice ever for public policy foodies. If it passes, California would be the first state in the nation to label genetically modified ingredients in all food and drinks, from breakfast cereals, packaged vegetables and sodas to canned and frozen goods.

Both sides argue about the measure's consequences, according to columnist Dan Walters at the Sacramento Bee. Some organic food companies, farmers (and trial lawyers), and their allies, say more disclosure helps consumers make more informed choices.

But retailers as well as some other food companies argue that genetically modified ingredients

A residential and commercial building in NYC was ripped apart by Hurricane Sandy's high winds. No injuries were reported. (Photo via @MegRobertson/Twitter)

Superstorm Sandy wreaked havoc on New York City on Monday, reportedly killing one person, causing a crane to collapse and the facade of a four-story building to crumble.

NBC4 in New York reported a 30-year-old man died when a tree fell on his home in Queens and almost 500,000 New Yorkers were without power according to CNN Weather.

New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said on CNN that police evacuated the buildings and streets surrounding a $1.5 billion high-rise where a crane came partially unhinged. He also said no one was injured after a building's facade crumbled in Manhattan.

The crane toppled around 2 p.m. ET on Monday, authorities said. Meteorologists told the AP that winds atop the 74-story building could have been close to 95 mph. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the cause of the collapse was unclear.

A Yahoo

Mitt Romney speaks in Iowa on Oct. 9. (Evan Vucci/AP)

[UPDATED: 2:40 p.m. ET] Mitt Romney's campaign told ABC News it would stop citing the meeting with Glen Doherty.

The mother of Glen Doherty, a Navy SEAL who was one of four Americans killed in the Sept. 11 attack in Libya, told a Boston TV station that GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney shouldn't politicize her son's death.

Romney told an Iowa campaign audience on Tuesday about a chance encounter with a Navy SEAL during a Christmas party in San Diego, although he did not invoke Doherty by name. Romney owns a home in California and Doherty was stationed there, serving in the military. Romney cited the SEAL's dedication to the Middle East and his commitment to foreign service as a way to draw a contrast with President Barack Obama's response in the region, which Romney has criticized as lacking in leadership. As Yahoo News's Holly Bailey reported:

Citing a CNN report that Doherty had been killed while trying to help others at the

The second night of the Democratic National Convention was behind schedule and broadcast against the first night of football season. There was no shortage of hard hits and one high profile platform fumble.

1. Bill Clinton ardently backs President Obama

Former President Clinton declared that America is better off than it was four years ago during his involving, detailed, rousing speech, which ended in a joyful hug between the former president and the current Oval Office occupant and capped the speeches of the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday.

[Related: 'Fascinating and irritating' -- voters react to Clinton's speech]

Clinton (unsurprisingly) departed from his prepared remarks to range wide, attacking Republican VP candidate Paul Ryan for his cuts to Medicare and riffing on jobs, education, and the auto bailout, among many (many) other things. And of course, there were jokes. Praising Obama for his spirit of cooperation, he quipped: "Heck, he even appointed Hillary!"

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