CONTAINING LINKS TO 1280 STORIES FROM THE NETWORKS' NIGHTLY NEWSCASTS
     COMMENTS: Storm-Tossed Pacific Coast

Fierce weather was the Story of the Day for the third day in a row. On Monday, the snowstorms that paralyzed airline travel in western Europe grabbed headlines. Tuesday was topped by the so-called Pineapple Express, the rainstorm that drenched the Pacific coastline. Those storms were Story of the Day once more as both ABC and CBS led with a state of emergency in six coastal California counties. ABC used a substitute anchor, George Stephanopoulos. At the White House, President Barack Obama held a press conference to mark the adjournment of the historic 111th Congress. NBC led with his praise for its legislation in its final lame duck session.

There were two major angles to the Pacific storms: the flash floods in coastal communities were covered by ABC's David Wright and CBS' Bill Whitaker; the threat of mudslides through the steep canyons of suburban foothills was covered by NBC's Miguel Almaguer and ABC's Mike von Fremd. NBC anchor Brian Williams pursued that angle with a follow-up interview with Tammy Smith, the cheerfully phlegmatic resident of La Canada, where the mudslide threat was at its most extreme.

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