NPR News

NPR librarians continue to help us keep track of the recovery from Superstorm Sandy and the deadly toll from the storm that blasted New Jersey, New York City and other parts of the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast and New England one week ago.

-- Number of deaths: At least 115 in the U.S., by NPR's count. The Associated Press reports there were at least 106 fatalities. There were 69 Sandy-related deaths in the Caribbean and two in Canada.

In New York, it takes an average of about three years for a bank to foreclose on a house.

In Texas, it takes about three months.

That's a huge, huge difference, and it's largely by design. About half the states in the country, including New York, require foreclosures to go through the courts. This slows down the process, and is intended to reduce the risk of someone being wrongly foreclosed on. In the other half of the country, including Texas, a third-party trustee can foreclose without going through the courts.

This morning a shadowy Arizona group decided to disclose where $11 million in political contributions came from. The money was used to fight for an anti-union ballot measure and against a proposition from Gov. Jerry Brown to raise sales and income taxes.

California's Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) says the $11 million is the largest contribution "ever disclosed as campaign money laundering in California history." FPPC says it may be the largest anonymous donation in state history.

(Revised at 5:46 pm ET)

On the final day of the 2012 campaign for the White House, President Obama and Mitt Romney are making the last push for votes in states each believes critical to achieving the 270 Electoral College votes needed for victory.

Obama was scheduled to campaign in three swing states, while Romney had events planned in four. The only overlap was in Ohio, considered the linchpin of the election.