From NPR News in Washington, I’m Lakshmi Singh.

The gunman in the 2011 Tucson mass shooting is getting life in prison without parole for killing six people and wounding 13. That punishment was expected today at Jared Loughner’s sentencing where some survivors and victims’ families confronted him for the first time. They included Mark Kelly, husband of former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who is also in the courtroom. Kelly spoke of the enormous difficulties his wife faces each day since the attack. He then told Loughner “you may have put a bullet through her head, but you have not put a dent in her spirit.”

A northeaster is hampering recovery efforts in areas still reeling from Superstorm Sandy. The latest storm unleashed strong winds, rains and snow, compounding the massive power outages from last week, with yet more outages, especially in New York and New Jersey. Meanwhile, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is estimating Sandy has cost the region about 50 billion dollars. NPR's Allison Keyes says Cuomo is calling for a redesign of transportation and utility systems.

Cuomo says the state of New York alone could face 33 billion in damage and economic loss in the wake of Sandy, which could mean an additional one-billion-dollar deficit for the state. But he also says there were lessons to be learned in an area that’s going to be victimized by storms.

“Our transportation system is vulnerable. We learned that the hard way. Our fuel delivery system is vulnerable.”

Cuomo says the utilities are a problem too.

“The utility system we have was designed at a different time for a different place.”

He says the system doesn't work for New York in an emergency crisis situation. Allison Keyes, NPR News.

Meanwhile, FEMA says it’s starting to deliver some manufactured housing units to areas in New Jersey and New York that were hit hardest by Superstorm Sandy.

The government’s reporting a nearly two-year low in the US trade deficit. NPR’s Dave Mattingly reports on the latest figures from September.

Exports hit a record high in September, although shipments of American-made goods to European Union countries remained flat. Overall, they jumped 3%, topping out at 187 million dollars. Stuart Hoffman is chief economist at PNC Financial.

“It’s great to see exports at a record. I think that does speak to the US competitiveness around the world.”

Exports were led by stronger sales of heavy machinery and commercial aircraft. Imports also rose. The trade deficit shrank to 41.5 billion dollars. Dave Mattingly, NPR News, Washington.

At last check on Wall Street, Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 66 points about 0.5% at 12,869, NASDAQ down 1% or 29 points at 2,908, and the S&P 500 is down 11 at 1,384.

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Weekly jobless claims are down again. The Labor Department says applications fell by 8,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 355,000. Analysts caution the figures don't yet reflect the impact from Superstorm Sandy. The more closely watched four-weak average meanwhile, which moves out week-to-week fluctuations, ticked up to 370,500.

The northeaster touched off at least 1,300 flight cancelations in and out of the New York area as new numbers emerge on the financial toll of that storm. United has cut its October revenue by 90 million dollars. Delta scaled back its revenue by about 45 million.

The Postal Service is gearing up for the holiday season. NPR’s Trina Williams reports nearly 600 million pieces of mail are expected to be processed daily between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve, adding up to the delivery of more than 15 billion pieces of mail and packages.

The Postal Service wants you to know that it will get the job done just as it has for more than 230 years of holiday delivery. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe emphasizes the institution is changing with the times to make service more convenient.

“You’ll find us on tablets, smartphones, at usps.com, where we’re going to serve almost 50 million customers during the holidays.”

Donahoe reminds customers that December 17th will be the busiest day for mailing cards and packages, and the 22nd will be the last day for guaranteed express mail Christmas Day delivery. Trina Williams, NPR News, Washington.

US stocks trading lower with the Dow off 57 at 12,876.

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