By KIMBERLY DOZIER
AP Intelligence Writer

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – A helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan Saturday, killing one member of the U.S.-led coalition and injuring another in what was the second deadly air crash in the country in a week, NATO officials said.

The crashes come as U.S. officials are grappling with tough talk from Afghan President Hamid Karzai whose recent anti-American rhetoric has complicated relations at a time when international troops are withdrawing from the war.

Capt. Luca Carniel, a spokesman for the coalition, said there was no enemy activity in the area when the helicopter went down, and that the cause of the crash was being investigated. Officials did not release the type of helicopter that crashed, or the nationalities of the casualties.

The helicopter went down in Daman district, a few kilometers (miles) east of Kandahar, said Javeed Faisal, the spokesman for Kandahar province.

On Monday, a Black Hawk crashed outside Kandahar, killing five U.S. troops. Two more U.S. troops were killed that day by an insider attack, making Monday the deadliest day for U.S. troops so far this year.

In addition to the casualties, U.S. officials are trying to contend with Karzai’s remarks that were so anti-American they prompted top NATO

By MICHAEL GORMLEY
Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – An official in the New York governor’s administration says Superstorm Sandy ran up a $42 billion bill on New York and the state and New York City are making big requests for disaster aid from the federal government.

The official provided the new, higher total on the condition of anonymity because an announcement was scheduled for later Monday.

The cost includes $32 billion for repairs and restoration and $9 billion for mitigation of damage and for preventive measures for the next disastrous storm.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo met with the New York’s congressional delegation Monday to discuss the new figures. The delegation, Cuomo and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will now draw up a request for federal disaster aid.

Bloomberg estimates the city’s cost alone at $19 billion.

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Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz in New York City contributed to this report.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito is vowing to run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Jay Rockefeller in 2014.

The 2nd District Republican announced her campaign plans Monday at the state Capitol.

Rockefeller, a five-term Democrat, says Capito called him last week and told him of her plans.

The 75-year-old Rockefeller did not say whether he plans to run in 2014. He and the state Democratic Party’s chairman instead referred to how West Virginians have gone through seven elections in less than three years. Rockefeller said he’s focusing on the federal budget and other pressing issues.

Capito won her seventh term on Nov. 6. The former state legislator chairs the House Financial Services subcommittee.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

By JIM KUHNHENN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) – Despite early signs of robust sales, White House economists warned Monday that the uncertainty of a potential hike in taxes next year for middle class taxpayers under the looming fiscal cliff could hurt consumer confidence during the crucial holiday shopping season.

In a new report that coincides with Congress’ return after the Thanksgiving holiday, the White House says that if lawmakers don’t halt the automatic increase in taxes for households earning less than $250,000, consumers might even curtail their shopping during the current holiday season.

“As we approach the holiday season, which accounts for close to one-fifth of industry sales, retailers can’t afford the threat of tax increases on middle-class families,” the report by President Barack Obama’s National Economic Council and his Council of Economic Advisers says.

The report comes as official Washington dives back into negotiations on how to avoid tax hikes and deep spending cuts scheduled to begin taking effect Jan. 1.

White House and congressional leadership aides said Obama spoke separately with House Speaker John Boehner and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid over the weekend. The aides would not reveal details of the conversations. Obama last met with the bipartisan congressional leadership to

By LUKE MEREDITH
AP Sports Writer

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – With the majority of conference regular-season games in the books, the SEC again holds national bragging rights.

It appears that for the second year in a row the powerful SEC will be the only league in the country to send a team to the national title game.

The winner of next week’s SEC title game will almost certainly face independent Notre Dame in the championship game, in search of the SEC’s seventh consecutive national title.

But the SEC isn’t the only team poised to make noise in the postseason.

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BALANCED BIG 12: Though the Big 12 still has one week of games left, it already has qualified nine of its 10 members for bowl games.

Only woeful Kansas won’t go to a bowl game this season – a sign that the league is as deep as it’s ever been.

Kansas State can win the league on Saturday with a win over Texas, and Oklahoma can swoop in and steal the title with a win at TCU and a loss by K-State. Whoever wins the Big 12 will be joined by a ton of familiar faces in December and beyond.

The league has three six-win teams; Iowa

By AMY FORLITI
Associated Press

LITTLE FALLS, Minn. (AP) – A Minnesota man charged with murder in the shootings of two teenagers he said broke into his home told investigators he was angered by one of the wounded teens who mocked him when his rifle jammed but that he fired more shots than necessary.

“If you’re trying to shoot somebody and they laugh at you, you go again,” Byron David Smith, 64, of Little Falls, told investigators, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday.

Smith was charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Haile Kifer, 18, and her cousin, Nicholas Schaeffel, 17, both of Little Falls. The teens were shot on Thanksgiving Day, but their deaths weren’t reported until Friday.

In the complaint, Smith said he was in the basement of his remote home about 10 miles southwest of Little Falls when he heard a window breaking upstairs, followed by footsteps that eventually approached the basement stairwell. Fearful after several break-ins, according to the complaint, Smith said he fired when Schaeffel came into view from the waist down.

After the teen fell down the stairs, Smith said he shot him in the face as he lay on the floor.

“I want him

By AARON BEARD
AP Sports Writer

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – North Carolina State coach Tom O’Brien entered the season with hopes of contending for the Atlantic Coast Conference championship. Instead, his program continued its up-and-down ways of the past six years – which ultimately cost him his job.

The school fired O’Brien on Sunday, ending a tenure that was good enough to reach four bowls yet never could reach the ACC championship game.

Athletic director Debbie Yow made the announcement one day after the Wolfpack finished a 7-5 regular season with a win over Boston College. During a news conference, Yow said she met with O’Brien on Friday to discuss the future of the program, then notified him of her decision Sunday before meeting with the coaching staff and players.

“I told them it’s really fairly simple,” Yow said. “Coach O’Brien and I agree on the goal of becoming a Top 25 program. We just don’t agree on what it takes to do that, how to get there.”

O’Brien went 40-35 after coming to Raleigh from Boston College following the 2006 season. He took the Wolfpack to three bowl games, but won’t coach in a fourth when N.C. State receives its bid next week. Yow

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM
Associated Press

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) – If the trash truck or bus rolling down your street seems a little quieter these days, you’re not imagining things. It’s probably running on natural gas.

Surging gas production has led the drilling industry to seek out new markets for its product, and energy companies, increasingly, are setting their sights on the transportation sector.

Touting natural gas as a cheaper, cleaner-burning alternative to gasoline and diesel, drillers, public utilities and government officials are trying to boost demand for natural gas buses, taxis, shuttles, delivery trucks and heavy-duty work vehicles of all sorts, while simultaneously encouraging development of the fueling infrastructure that will be needed to keep them running.

The economics are compelling. Natural gas costs about $1.50 to $2 per gallon equivalent less than gasoline and diesel. That can add up to tens of thousands of dollars in savings for vehicles that guzzle the most fuel.

Fleet managers are taking notice. Companies as diverse as ATT, Waste Management and UPS are converting all or parts of their fleets to natural gas, as are transit agencies, municipalities and state governments.

“Now that you can save a dollar or two dollars a gallon, there’s huge interest in the market,

By JEFF LATZKE
AP College Football Writer

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) – The combination of a Bedlam win and the program’s first Big 12 championship produced pure elation for Oklahoma State a year ago.

Coach Mike Gundy and his Cowboys had the opposite feeling in the rematch.

Landry Jones threw for 500 yards and three touchdowns and Brennan Clay scored on an 18-yard run in overtime to lift No. 14 Oklahoma to a 51-48 win against No. 22 Oklahoma State in the Bedlam rivalry on Saturday.

The Cowboys (7-4, 5-3 Big 12) never trailed until the final, heart-wrenching play and couldn’t hold double-digit leads in either half.

“I don’t think there’s any question there’s a lot of disappointment in the locker room,” Gundy said. “I’m very disappointed that we weren’t able to finish. We certainly made enough plays to win the game today.”

The Sooners (9-2, 7-1) just made one more. In a reversal of last season’s postgame scene – when Oklahoma State fans flooded the field and tore down the goalposts – Oklahoma players had the home-field celebration after mobbing Clay in the south end zone.

The Cowboys could only trudge off, needing to get past their rivals to get back to the locker room.

“The truth is

By JEFF LATZKE
AP College Football Writer

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) – After the first overtime game in the Bedlam rivalry, a wild celebration on Owen Field and yet another 500-yard passing game, it all settled in for Landry Jones.

His last home game with Oklahoma was over, and what a way to go out.

Jones threw three touchdown passes and Brennan Clay scored on an 18-yard run in overtime to lift the 14th-ranked Sooners to a 51-48 win against No. 22 Oklahoma State in the Bedlam rivalry on Saturday.

“No better way,” Jones said. “God blessed me so much tonight to be able to go out like this.

“There’s no better way to go out.”

The Sooners (9-2, 7-1 Big 12) never led during regulation, wiping out double-digit deficits in both halves. Backup quarterback Blake Bell tied it with 4 seconds left on a 4-yard keeper on fourth-and-1 after Jones directed the first 16 plays of an extended drive.

The victory kept alive Oklahoma’s chances for at least a share of the Big 12 championship. The Sooners could win it outright by beating TCU next week if No. 7 Kansas State loses to Texas.

“Football’s a crazy game,” Jones said. “There’s up sand downs, good and bad. You