EVERY DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine stories you need to know as you kick off your day.

1. #USA 2012: Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will attempt to convince voters in the key swing states of Wisconsin, Ohio, Florida and Virginia today ahead of Tuesday’s polling with rallies and last-minute speeches. As the end draws near, TheJournal.ie has taken a look back at the long campaign – in 99 photos.

2. #SANDY: It has emerged that two of the victims of superstorm Sandy in New York were the sons of an Irish emigrant. Donegal native Damien Moore was working in Brooklyn when two-year-old Brandon and his older brother Conor, aged four, were swept away on Staten Island, reports RTÉ.

3. #SURGE: The Irish Exporters Association is expecting a record year for the sector as the worth of goods and services being shipped out of Ireland increased by 10 per cent to €46.7 billion between July and September, according to the Irish Independent.

4. #RETAIL CRIME: Shoplifting is becoming a greater headache for retailers in Ireland with a new survey revealing that over half a billion euro in stock is stolen each year.

5. #CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL: Just 24-hours ahead of a key Cabinet meeting about the location of the new National Children’s Hospital, the Irish Times reports the project could be delayed by 30 months at a cost of €140 million if the Mater site is not chosen. That is according to a memo from the National Hospital Paediatric Development Board. Meanwhile, the Irish Independent says the Coombe Hospital has emerged as the favourite.

6. #RYANAIR: Budget airline Ryanair continues in its bid to take over rival firm Aer Lingus with what it describes as an “unprecedented remedies” package to assuage EU monopoly fears. In its latest results, the company reported a half-year profit of €596 million.

7. #DAVID BLACK: Two men who were arrested by police in Northern Ireland investigating the death of prison officer David Black have been released without charge. A third man is still being held for questioning by Gardaí in Leitrim.

8. #FOOD POVERTY: A new soup kitchen is to open its doors in Athlone, Co Westmeath today. Twist is a voluntary organisation set up by Galway native Oliver Williams earlier this year “to provide hot food to anybody that needs it regardless of age, race, gender or circumstances”.

9. #THE EASTENDER EFFECT: A Fianna Fáil TD has expressed his concerns that a recent plot line in Eastenders might influence voters ahead of Saturday’s referendum on Children’s Rights. Robert Troy said the story of Lola’s baby Lexi being taken into care has had an emotional impact on viewers, according to the Irish Examiner.

Over on DailyEdge.ie: We’ve raked through this morning’s celebrity dirt so you don’t have to… Justin Bieber the hero, who isn’t fat and who isn’t gay, and One Direction holding puppies. It’s The Dredge.