Cuomo: Sandy cost NY, NYC $32B in damage and loss

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Top political leaders in New York put their heads together Monday on big requests for federal disaster aid as Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that Superstorm Sandy ran up a bill of $32 billion in the state and the nation's largest city.

FDA halts operations at peanut butter plant

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Food and Drug Administration halted operations of the country's largest organic peanut butter processor Monday, cracking down on salmonella poisoning for the first time with new enforcement authority the agency gained in a 2011 food safety law.

GOP blocks bill to give hunters more land access

WASHINGTON (AP) - A wide-ranging bill to give hunters and fishermen more access to public lands stalled in the Senate Monday after Republicans said it spends too much money.

US twin astronaut, Russian to spend year in orbit

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - A former space shuttle commander whose twin brother is married to former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will attempt the longest spaceflight ever by an American.

Transplant doc, Nobel winner Murray dies in Boston

BOSTON (AP) - Dr. Joseph E. Murray, who performed the world's first successful kidney transplant and won a Nobel Prize for his pioneering work, has died at age 93.

Los Angeles Co. team fights costly plastic thefts

INDUSTRY (AP) - The humble milk crate is the focus of a crime that's costing Southern California businesses millions of dollars a year.

All items in ‘12 Days of Christmas’ now top $107K

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Add seven swans, six geese and five golden rings to the list of Christmas gifts that cost more than they did a year ago.

AP IMPACT: Will NYC act to block future surges?

Think Sandy was just a 100-year storm that devastated New York City? Imagine one just as bad, or worse, every three years.

JFK's last night recalled as key event for Latinos

President John F. Kennedy was supposed to just stop by and wave hello. Instead a group of eager Latinos persuaded him to come inside and speak to a packed room of Mexican-American civil rights activists. And then he persuaded his wife, first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, to address the crowd in Spanish. It was Nov. 21, 1963. Hours later, the president was dead, his assassination overshadowing the significance of a speech that can be ...

Utility worker pierced pipe before Mass. gas blast

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) - A natural gas explosion that injured 18 people and damaged 42 buildings in Springfield's entertainment district was blamed Sunday on a utility worker who accidentally punctured a high-pressure pipeline while looking for a leak.

Kan. honor flights halted after money goes missing

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - As many as 100 World War II veterans missed their chance to travel to Washington to see their war's memorial after about $110,000 disappeared from a Kansas nonprofit that organized free trips for them.

1 of FBI's 10 most wanted arrested

LOS ANGELES (AP) - One of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives was arrested Thursday in Mexico and will be returned to Los Angeles to face charges of murder, kidnapping and rape, U.S. officials said.

Gas blast levels Mass. strip club; 18 people hurt

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) - A natural gas explosion in one of New England's biggest cities on Friday leveled a strip club with a boom heard for miles and heavily damaged a dozen other buildings but didn't kill anyone, authorities said.

Movie attack suspect got guns despite psych issues

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A southwest Missouri man accused of plotting attacks at a movie theater and Walmart store legally bought the guns he allegedly planned to use, despite being forced to undergo a psychiatric exam three years ago after stalking a store clerk he said he planned to kill, authorities said.

Official: Man killed zoo monkey during theft try

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - A 22-year-old man clubbed a monkey to death with a tree branch, after he was bitten by the animal while trying to steal it from a Boise zoo, prosecutors allege.

Tests link deadly ricin to Obama letter suspect

Obama defends counterterrorism effort

Nation news briefs

NYC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ADOPTS ALL-VEGETARIAN MENU: NEW YORK (AP) - A New York City elementary school has adopted an all-vegetarian menu, serving kids tofu wraps and veggie chili.

Legal tiff settled over Chicago parking meters

US assessing reported Syrian chemical use

Army amputee completes air assault school

Man arrested for letting son, 9, drive Ferrari

Pro-gun Native American billboard draws criticism

Nation news briefs

SOME LOSING JOBS AMID ALLEGED NEV. PATIENT DUMPING: CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - Two staff members who violated discharge policies at a Las Vegas psychiatric hospital were fired Monday and three others are being disciplined following an investigation into busing patients to other states, the governor's office and agency officials said Monday.

Lawyer: Former ricin suspect's home is unlivable

1st female Iraq war resister to be court-martialed

Abortion trial stirs debate on when life ends

Boston suspect's defense team gets major boost