(CNN) — Pelting rains, whipping winds, mass evacuations: There is no doubt that Hurricane Sandy, by Sunday, had already made a mammoth impact on the U.S. East Coast.

And it should only get worse.

That’s the consensus view, among forecasters and officials, as the Category 1 storm continued to chug northeastward parallel to the shore. Even with its eye still hundreds of miles away, those on the North Carolina and Virginia coasts felt its wrath Sunday.

But if, as expected, it turns toward the United States later in the day, Sandy will have an even more direct — and potentially calamitous — effect on millions of Americans. Forecasters warn it will likely collide with a cold front from the West to spawn a “superstorm” that could slog along the Eastern Seaboard for days — meaning even more flooding, even more power outages, even more potential danger.

London (CNN) — An Olympic bronze medal stolen from a London nightclub earlier this week has been reunited with its owner.

A spokesman for the London Metropolitan police said a medal belonging to the British field hockey player Hannah Macleod had been mailed anonymously to the offices of England Hockey on Friday. The player had appealed via her Twitter account for the medal to be returned in this manner.

A bronze medal belonging to fellow British Olympian Alex Partridge, a rower, remains missing.

“We are still looking to recover the second medal, and we stress that our inquiries remain active,” said Detective Chief Inspector James Harman.

“Alex’s medal has yet to be traced, and he is understandably keen to be reunited with it as soon as possible.”

The American Association of Pediatrics wants cheerleading to be considered a sport.

The group says two-thirds of all serious injuries to high school girl athletes are from cheerleading. Denver pediatrician Dr. Steve Perry sees a lot of cheerleading injuries and agrees with the AAP.

“They’re more strains or sprains, a lot of time in their legs, but we’ve seen a lot of kids with concussions,” Perry said.

At High Country Cheer in Littleton, they make sure to take a lot of precautions.

“We have a high coach to athlete ratio,” said owner Krista Schley. “When they’re stunting we have a coach on each stunt to prevent them from falling when they’re learning. The athletes train really hard. What they’re doing is just as physical, it’s dangerous, and it takes a lot of concentration.”