Teen prospect injured, dad killed in crash

Teen prospect injured, dad killed in crash, We have more unfortunate news to pass along on what has already been a sad Sunday here at Big League Stew.

The Cincinnati Reds have confirmed a Jennifer Rios report in the San Angelo Standard-Times that their 2012 fifth-round draft pick, Mason Felt, 18, was critically injured in a one-car accident on Saturday morning just outside of Ozona, Texas.

The accident happened a little after 10 a.m. on Interstate 10, according to Rios' report. Felt, who was driving his 2004 Ford F-150 truck, began drifting into the shoulder and then over corrected, causing him to cross over both lanes of traffic and then flipped over.

He's now considered to be in critical, but stable condition. Unfortunately, his father, Roger Felt, 51, was pronounced dead at the scene. He was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident.As we noted, Mason Felt, a left-handed pitcher out of Hoschton, Ga., was the 172nd overall pick in this past June's amateur draft.

He elected to sign with the Reds for $317,800, rather than attend Oregon State where he was headed on a baseball scholarship. As many aspiring baseball players do, he was following in the footsteps of his father, who spent five seasons in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization during the early '80s.

Children's choir pays tribute to victims

Children's choir pays tribute to victims, "Saturday Night Live" closed out 2012 with its strongest episode in weeks.

"SNL" alum Martin Short, who appeared on the 1984-85 season, livened up what's been a dull string of episodes with his kinetic, sprightly style. He brought with him a bounty of celebrity cameos (more on that later). Plus, we'll never tire of seeing Paul McCartney perform.

The episode started with, instead of a cold open, the New York City Children's Chorus singing a beautiful rendition of "Silent Night" in a nod to Friday's heartbreaking school shooting tragedy. It was classy and dignified, and incredibly moving to hear the kids sing, "Sleep in heavenly peace/Sleep in heavenly peace."

The rest of the evening didn't hold back on trying to be funny, and for the first time in weeks, actually succeeded. The monologue set the evening's zany tone, with Short singing a lascivious version of "It's a Wonderful Time of the Year," with Paul Shaffer at piano. The cameos kept on coming as Short made his way backstage -- Kristen Wiig! Jimmy Fallon! Tom Hanks! Samuel L. Jackson! Tina Fey! Merry Christmas to all!

BEST: Kate Middleton Pregnancy Exam

Short played a royal family liaison sent to teach proper protocol to the Duchess of Cambridge's OB (Bill Hader). He instructs the doctor on how to approach the royal … ahem … and what to call that area of her body. "The governess, the kingmaker, her 'Downton Abbey,'" Short ticks off, as Hader can barely keep a straight face, "The chunnel, Dame Judi Dench, Piccadilly Circus, and Thomas's English Muffin." Then Fred Armisen showed up as Queen Elizabeth, who needs her Judi Dench looked at. We haven't laughed this hard during an "SNL" sketch in … can't even remember.

YES, IT'S BACK!: What's Up With That's Christmas Spectacular
As a little gift, "SNL" brought this out of sketch retirement. The major buzz around last night's edition is that Samuel L. Jackson apparently dropped an F-bomb (he claimed on Twitter that he said "fuh"), and definitely really did say "bulls---." Aside from that, it was a pretty typical "What's Up With That." Jason Sudeikis was hilarious (as usual) as the Running Man. Watch the sketch here.

YES, IT'S BACK! 2: A Tony Bennett Christmas
Alec Baldwin reprised his dead-on impersonation of Tony Bennett, who teamed up with his brother Jerry (Short) to interview Kanye West (Jay Pharoah). The sketch's potty humor had us cracking up: "It sure is easy to get down in the dumps when you can take one." Classic!

WORST: Restoration Hardware Reunion
This one was a head-scratcher. Short and Armisen play two buddies who run into each other at the decor store. They exchange tidings about their odd careers (Short acts in EMT training videos) and activities (Armisen gets painted on). It was definitely the evening's weak link.

BEST IMPERSONATIONS: A New Twist on Charlie Brown
Everyone in this pre-taped bit was killing it, particularly Short as Larry David (playing Linus), Kate McKinnon as Edie Falco (playing Lucy), and Bill Hader as Al Pacino (Charlie Brown). It basically just centered around them dropping a lot of F-bombs during a children's play, but still amusing. Check out the sketch here.

BEST PAUL MCCARTNEY PERFORMANCE: Holiday Pageant

McCartney was on his game tonight, with a gorgeous rendition of "My Valentine" and a rocking take on "Cut Me Some Slack" with the surviving members of Nirvana. But I particularly enjoyed his final performance. He and Short teamed up to play a singing duo, except McCartney isn't allowed to sing, just play the triangle. Eventually, he does a get a chance … and the stage opens up and he busts out "Wonderful Christmas Time." Happy holidays, indeed.

Don't get audited: Twelve IRS red flags

Don't get audited: Twelve IRS red flags, Ever wonder why some tax returns are eyeballed by the Internal Revenue Service while most are ignored?

The IRS audits only slightly more than 1% of all individual tax returns annually. The agency doesn't have enough personnel and resources to examine each and every tax return filed during a year. So the odds are pretty low that your return will be picked for review. And, of course, the only reason filers should worry about an audit is if they are fudging on their taxes.

However, the chances of being audited or otherwise hearing from the IRS increase depending upon various factors, including your income level, whether you omitted income, the types of deductions or losses you claimed, the business in which you're engaged and whether you own foreign assets. Math errors may draw IRS inquiry, but they'll rarely lead to a full-blown exam. Although there's no sure way to avoid an IRS audit, you should be aware of red flags that could increase your chances of drawing unwanted attention from the IRS.
1. Making too much money

Although the overall individual audit rate is about 1.11%, the odds increase dramatically for higher-income filers. 2011 IRS statistics show that people with incomes of $200,000 or higher had an audit rate of 3.93%, or one out of slightly more than every 25 returns. Report $1 million or more of income? There's a one-in-eight chance your return will be audited. The audit rate drops significantly for filers making less than $200,000: Only 1.02% of such returns were audited during 2011, and the vast majority of these exams were conducted by mail. We're not saying you should try to make less money -- everyone wants to be a millionaire. Just understand that the more income shown on your return, the more likely it is that you'll be hearing from the IRS.

2. Failing to report all taxable income

The IRS gets copies of all 1099s and W-2s you receive, so make sure you report all required income on your return. IRS computers are pretty good at matching the numbers on the forms with the income shown on your return. A mismatch sends up a red flag and causes the IRS computers to spit out a bill. If you receive a 1099 showing income that isn't yours or listing incorrect income, get the issuer to file a correct form with the IRS.

3. Taking large charitable deductions

We all know that charitable contributions are a great write-off and help you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. However, if your charitable deductions are disproportionately large compared with your income, it raises a red flag. That's because IRS computers know what the average charitable donation is for folks at your income level. Also, if you don't get an appraisal for donations of valuable property, or if you fail to file Form 8283 for donations over $500, the chances of audit increase. And if you've donated a conservation easement to a charity, chances are good that you'll hear from the IRS. Be sure to keep all your supporting documents, including receipts for cash and property contributions made during the year, and abide by the documentation rules. And attach Form 8283 if required.
4. Claiming the home office deduction

Like Willie Sutton robbing banks (because that's where the money is), the IRS is drawn to returns that claim home office write-offs because it has found great success knocking down the deduction and driving up the amount of tax collected for the government. If you qualify, you can deduct a percentage of your rent, real estate taxes, utilities, phone bills, insurance and other costs that are properly allocated to the home office. That's a great deal. However, to take this write-off, you must use the space exclusively and regularly as your principal place of business. That makes it difficult to successfully claim a guest bedroom or children's playroom as a home office, even if you also use the space to do your work. "Exclusive use" means that a specific area of the home is used only for trade or business, not also for the family to watch TV at night. Don't be afraid to take the home office deduction if you're entitled to it. Risk of audit should not keep you from taking legitimate deductions. If you have it and can prove it, then use it.

5. Claiming rental losses

Normally, the passive loss rules prevent the deduction of rental real estate losses. But there are two important exceptions. If you actively participate in the renting of your property, you can deduct up to $25,000 of loss against your other income. But this $25,000 allowance phases out as adjusted gross income exceeds $100,000 and disappears entirely once your AGI reaches $150,000. A second exception applies to real estate professionals who spend more than 50% of their working hours and 750 or more hours each year materially participating in real estate as developers, brokers, landlords or the like. They can write off losses without limitation. But the IRS is scrutinizing rental real estate losses, especially those written off by taxpayers claiming to be real estate pros. The agency will check to see whether they worked the necessary hours, especially in cases of landlords whose day jobs are not in the real estate business.6. Deducting business meals, travel and entertainment

Schedule C is a treasure trove of tax deductions for self-employeds. But it's also a gold mine for IRS agents, who know from experience that self-employeds sometimes claim excessive deductions. History shows that most underreporting of income and overstating of deductions are done by those who are self-employed. And the IRS looks at both higher-grossing sole proprietorships and smaller ones. Big deductions for meals, travel and entertainment are always ripe for audit. A large write-off here will set off alarm bells, especially if the amount seems too high for the business. Agents are on the lookout for personal meals or claims that don't satisfy the strict substantiation rules. To qualify for meal or entertainment deductions, you must keep detailed records that document for each expense the amount, the place, the people attending, the business purpose and the nature of the discussion or meeting. Also, you must keep receipts for expenditures over $75 or for any expense for lodging while traveling away from home. Without proper documentation, your deduction is toast.

7. Claiming 100% business use of a vehicle

Another area ripe for IRS review is use of a business vehicle. When you depreciate a car, you have to list on Form 4562 what percentage of its use during the year was for business. Claiming 100% business use of an automobile is red meat for IRS agents. They know that it's extremely rare for an individual to actually use a vehicle 100% of the time for business, especially if no other vehicle is available for personal use. IRS agents are trained to focus on this issue and will scrutinize your records. Make sure you keep detailed mileage logs and precise calendar entries for the purpose of every road trip. Sloppy recordkeeping makes it easy for the revenue agent to disallow your deduction. As a reminder, if you use the IRS' standard mileage rate, you can't also claim actual expenses for maintenance, insurance and other out-of-pocket costs. The IRS has seen such shenanigans and is on the lookout for more.

8. Writing off a loss for a hobby activity

Your chances of "winning" the audit lottery increase if you have wage income and file a Schedule C with large losses. And if the loss-generating activity sounds like a hobby -- horse breeding, car racing and such -- the IRS pays even more attention. Agents are specially trained to sniff out those who improperly deduct hobby losses. Large Schedule C losses are always audit bait, but reporting losses from activities in which it looks like you're having a good time all but guarantees IRS scrutiny.

You must report any income you earn from a hobby, and you can deduct expenses up to the level of that income. But the law bans writing off losses from a hobby. For you to claim a loss, your activity must be entered into and conducted with the reasonable expectation of making a profit. If your activity generates profit three out of every five years (or two out of seven years for horse breeding), the law presumes that you're in business to make a profit, unless IRS establishes otherwise. If you're audited, the IRS is going to make you prove you have a legitimate business and not a hobby. So make sure you run your activity in a businesslike manner and can provide supporting documents for all expenses.

9. Running a cash business

Small business owners, especially those in cash-intensive businesses -- think taxis, car washes, bars, hair salons, restaurants and the like -- are a tempting target for IRS auditors. Experience shows that those who receive primarily cash are less likely to accurately report all of their taxable income. The IRS has a guide for agents to use when auditing cash-intensive businesses, telling how to interview owners and noting various indicators of unreported income.

10. Failing to report a foreign bank account

The IRS is intensely interested in people with offshore accounts, especially those in tax havens, and tax authorities have had success getting foreign banks to disclose account information. The IRS has also used voluntary compliance programs to encourage folks with undisclosed foreign accounts to come clean -- in exchange for reduced penalties. The IRS has learned a lot from these programs and has collected a boatload of money.

Failure to report a foreign bank account can lead to severe penalties, and the IRS has made this issue a top priority. Make sure that if you have any such accounts, you properly report them when you file your return.

11. Engaging in currency transactions

The IRS gets many reports of cash transactions in excess of $10,000 involving banks, casinos, car dealers and other businesses, plus suspicious-activity reports from banks and disclosures of foreign accounts. A report by Treasury inspectors concluded that these currency transaction reports are a valuable source of audit leads for sniffing out unreported income. The IRS agrees, and it will make greater use of these forms in its audit process. So if you make large cash purchases or deposits, be prepared for IRS scrutiny. Also, be aware that banks and other institutions file reports on suspicious activities that appear to avoid the currency transaction rules (such as persons depositing $9,500 in cash one day and an additional $9,500 in cash two days later).

12. Taking higher-than-average deductions

If deductions on your return are disproportionately large compared with your income, the IRS may pull your return for review. But if you have the proper documentation for your deduction, don't be afraid to claim it. There's no reason to ever pay the IRS more tax than you actually owe.

Gunman's mother kept hardships hidden

Gunman's mother kept hardships hidden, At the bar, everybody knew her name.
Nancy Lanza was the one who, if she heard you were short on cash, regularly offered to pick up the tab at My Place.

Two or three nights a week, Lanza — the mother of the gunman in Connecticut's horrific school massacre — came in for carryout salads, but stayed for Chardonnay and good humor. The divorced mother of two — still smooth-skinned and ash blonde at 52 — clearly didn't have to work, but was always glad to share talk of her beloved Red Sox, gardening and a growing enthusiasm for target shooting.

But while Lanza spoke proudly about her sons and brought them in for breakfast when they were younger, friends say she held one card very close: home life, especially its trials and setbacks, was off limits.

Now, the secrets Lanza kept are at the center of the questions that envelop this New England town, grieving over the slaughter unleashed by her 20-year-old son Adam, who investigators say killed his mother Friday with one of her own guns before murdering 26 children and teachers at a nearby school.

"Her family life was her family life. She kept it private, when we were together. That was her own thing," said Louise Tambascio, who runs the warmly lit pizzeria and bar with her own sons, and became a shopping and dining companion of Nancy Lanza's.
Friends had met Lanza's younger son, who stared down at the floor and didn't speak when she brought him in.

They knew he'd switched schools more than once and that she'd tried home schooling him. But while she occasionally expressed concern about his future during evenings at the bar, she never complained about anything at all.
"I heard her as a parent. I always said that I wouldn't want to be in her shoes. But I thought, 'Wow. She holds it well,'" said Tambascio's son, John.

Friends told NBC's "Today" show on Monday that Lanza was a devoted mother, especially to her son Adam, and that shooting guns was simply a hobby for her.
Russell Hanoman said Adam Lanza was "clearly a troubled child."
Hanoman said Nancy Lanza told him she introduced guns to Adam as a way to teach him responsibility.

"Guns require a lot of respect, and she really tried to instill that responsibility within him, and he took to it. He loved being careful with them. He made it a source of pride," he said.

California resident Ryan Kraft told KCAL-TV in Los Angeles that when he was a teenager he lived a few doors down from the Lanza family and used to babysit Adam Lanza, then nine or 10 years old. He said the boy "struck me as an introverted kid."
"His mom Nancy had always instructed me to keep an eye on him at all times, never turn my back or even go to the bathroom or anything like that.

Which I found odd but I really didn't ask; it wasn't any of my business," said Kraft, who lives in Hermosa Beach. "But looking back at it now, I guess there was something else going on."

Despite the challenges, the trappings of Lanza's life in Newtown were comfortable. When she and then-husband Peter Lanza moved to the central Connecticut community in 1998 from southern New Hampshire, they bought a brand new 3,100-square-foot colonial set on more than two acres in the Bennett's Farm neighborhood. Nancy Lanza had previously worked as a stock broker at John Hancock in Boston and her husband was a successful executive.

When the couple divorced in 2009, he left their spacious home to Nancy Lanza and told her she would never have to work another day in her life, said Marsha Lanza of Crystal Lake, Ill., Lanza's aunt. The split-up was not acrimonious and Adam spent time with both his mother and father, she said.

Those who knew Nancy Lanza recall her as very generous, often giving money to those she met and doing volunteer work.
When a mutual friend sought a loan from an acquaintance, Jim Leff, and Leff asked for collateral, Lanza intervened.

"Nancy overheard the discussion, and, unblinkingly, told him she'd just write him a check then and there," Leff recalled on his blog in a post after Lanza's death. "While I'm far from the most generous guy in the world, it's not often that I feel stingy. But I learned something from that. I should have just written him the check. She was right."
Mark Tambascio recalled the time Lanza invited him and his brother to attend a Boston Red Sox game, buying them tickets atop the outfield wall known as the Green Monster, and refusing any talk of repayment.

There were moments when she appeared carefree. Inside My Place on Sunday, friends passed around a book of photos from a 2008 sailing trip off Newport, R.I., including one showing Lanza, her eyes gently closed and head tilted back as the sea breeze blew through her hair. "Dreamer!" read the caption.

Neighbors knew her from the monthly gathering of women who rotated between homes for games of the dice game bunko. Lanza enthused about gardening, while poking fun of the fact that few could see the result because her house was set back from the road on a low rise, partly cloaked by trees.

"She used to give me a hard time, you know, because I put out all these Christmas lights, and she said, 'I put out mine, too, but you can't even see them,'" said Rhonda Cullens, who lives one street over.

Lanza also began telling friends that she'd bought guns and had taken up target shooting, John Tambascio said.
All three of the guns that Adam Lanza carried into Sandy Hook Elementary were owned and registered by his mother — a pair of handguns and a .223-caliber Bushmaster rifle, his primary weapon.

Investigators said Sunday that Nancy Lanza visited shooting ranges several times and that her son also visited an area range.
Ginger Colbrun, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, said it's still not clear whether Nancy Lanza brought her son to the range or whether he ever fired a weapon there.

Marsha Lanza told the Chicago Sun-Times that Nancy Lanza wanted guns for protection. "She prepared for the worst," Marsha Lanza told the newspaper. "I didn't know that they (the guns) would be used on her."

Guns were her hobby," Dan Holmes, who got to know Lanza while doing landscaping work for her, told The Washington Post. "She told me she liked the single-mindedness of shooting."

But while trips to shooting ranges gave Lanza an outlet, she returned home to the ever-present challenges of raising a son with intractable problems.
At Newtown High School, Adam Lanza was often having crises that only his mother could defuse.

"He would have an episode, and she'd have to return or come to the high school and deal with it," said Richard Novia, the school district's head of security until 2008, who got to know the family because both Lanza sons joined the school technology club he chartered.

Novia said Adam Lanza would sometimes withdraw completely "from whatever he was supposed to be doing," whether it was sitting in class or reading a book.
Adam Lanza "could take flight, which I think was the big issue, and it wasn't a rebellious or defiant thing," Novia said. "It was withdrawal."

The club gave the boy a place where he could be more at ease and indulge his interest in computers. His anxieties appeared to ease somewhat, but they never disappeared. When people approached him in the hallways, he would press himself against the wall or walk in a different direction, clutching tight to his black briefcase.
Marsha Lanza described Nancy Lanza as a good mother.

"If he had needed consulting, she would have gotten it," Marsha Lanza said. "Nancy wasn't one to deny reality."

But friends and neighbors said Lanza never spoke about the difficulties of raising her son. Mostly she noted how smart he was and that she hoped, even with his problems, that he'd find a way to succeed.
"We never talked about the family," John Tambascio said. "She just came in to have a great time."
___
Associated Press writer Matt Apuzzo in Southbury, Conn. and Michael Tarm in Crystal Lake, Ill. contributed to this report.

Funerals begin for young Newtown victims

Funerals begin for young Newtown victims, The first two funerals for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary school massacre are scheduled for later today when Newtown, Conn., will bury 6-year-olds Noah Pozner and Jack Pinto.

Noah's family will greet the public before the funeral service begins at 1 p.m. at the Abraham L. Green & Son Funeral Home in Fairfield, Conn. The burial will follow at B'nai Israel Cemetery in Monroe.

Jack's service will take place at 1 p.m. at Honan Funeral Home in Newtown. The burial will follow the service at Newtown Village Cemetery.Noah and Jack were two of the 20 children who were killed Friday morning at Sandy Hook Elementary School when Adam Lanza allegedly sprayed two first-grade classrooms with bullets that also killed six adults.
Noah's twin sister, Arielle, was one of the students who survived when her teacher hid her class in the bathroom during the attack.

As millions of Americans try to make sense of the shootings, memorials and personal tributes have been emerging to remember the children and their educators.

After hearing that Jack was a huge New York Giants fan, Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz wrote "R.I.P. Jack Pinto," "Jack Pinto, my hero" and "This one is 4 U!" on his cleats and gloves before playing the Atlanta Falcons Sunday afternoon. Cruz tweeted photos of his tribute shortly before the game, along with his condolences.

Cruz told reporters he spoke to the family Saturday after hearing Jack was a Giants fan. Cruz was told the family planned to bury Jack in Cruz's No. 80 Giants jersey.
"There are no words that can describe the type of feeling you get when a kid idolizes you so much that, you know, unfortunately they put him in a casket with your jersey on," Cruz said Sunday.

"I also spoke to an older brother and he was distraught as well. I told him to stay strong and I was going to do whatever I can to honor him," Cruz said. "He was fighting tears and could barely speak to me."

Cruz said he plans to give the gloves he wore during the game to the boy's family, and spend some time with them.

Like many parents holding their children a little tighter in wake of the school shooting, Cruz told reporters his 11-month-old daughter, Kennedy, slept in his bed Friday night.

"We slept together that night," he said, "and it was a good feeling. It was one that I cherished."

The Giants were shut out by the Falcons, 34-0, and Cruz was held to three catches for 15 yards with no touchdowns. Cruz had hoped to score at least one touchdown for arguably his biggest fan.

"I probably would have pointed up to the sky, tapped my shoes or something special just to let him know I was thinking of him," Cruz told Newsday.

More funerals are planned for later this week. Jessica Rekos, 6, will be buried Tuesday at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church.

School Shooting Details

School Shooting Details, That's what President Barack Obama told those attending a memorial service Sunday in Newtown, Connecticut, two days after a man shot his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed 26 people -- 20 of them children no older than 7, who would never go on a date, drive a car, marry or have kids of their own.....CNN

Obama offered his condolences, saying, "All across this land of ours, we have wept with you." He praised the residents of Newtown for having pulled together and "loved one another" with a spirit all could emulate. And he asked whether more could be done to prevent more parents, sisters and brothers, like those in this quiet New England town, from suffering similar heartaches.

"Can we honestly say we're doing enough to keep our children -- all of them -- safe from harm?" Obama said, adding that "if we don't get that right, we don't get anything right."

"If we're honest with ourselves, the answer is no." Read the full text of the president's speech His call to action capped an emotional prayer service at Newtown High School, in which local leaders of several religions -- a Jewish rabbi singing a prayer, a Muslim man choking back tears, and several Christian leaders offering perspective -- attempted to comfort a shattered community. Nine hundred watched in the school's auditorium, including several children toting teddy bears, and another 1,300 saw the proceedings from a nearby overflow room.

The aim was to show those suffering in Newtown they were not alone. With the help of their neighbors, they could move past this "act of unfathomable violence and destruction," explained the Rev. Matt Crebbin, senior minister at Newtown Congregational Church.

"We needed this," Crebbin said of the service. "We needed to be together."
Remembering the victims

That sentiment was echoed by Obama, who said the nation stands with Newtown. Then he went further than that, saying that the country owes it to them -- and to the people of Tuscon, Arizona; Oak Creek, Wisconsin; Aurora, Colorado, communities that also have been sites of mass shootings in the last two years -- not just to remember the victims, but take steps to prevent more bloodshed in the future.

The president didn't specify what steps he favors, but he did promise to put the power of his office toward preventing more senseless grief -- saying, "We can't accept events like this as routine."

"These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change." Analysis: Why gun controls are off the agenda in America Clearer picture of what happened, but not why
The first calls came into police around 9:30 a.m. Friday.
Adam Lanza used "an assault weapon" to "literally (shoot) an entrance into the building," Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy said Sunday. The nightmare got worse as he moved through Sandy Hook's halls.

Timeline of the shooting Using a Bushmaster AR-15 "assault-type rifle," the 20-year-old fired "multiple magazines" -- each of which contained 30 bullets -- to gun down six adults and children in two classrooms, said Connecticut State Police Lt. J. Paul Vance. He then took out a handgun and shot himself in a classroom as law enforcement officers approached, officials said.

All the victims were shot multiple times, said H. Wayne Carver II, Connecticut's chief medical examiner. Their deaths -- as well as that of Nancy Lanza, Adam's mother who suffered "multiple gunshot wounds" at their Newtown home -- are classified as homicides.

"This probably is the worst I have seen or the worst that I know of any of my colleagues having seen," said Carver, who did autopsies on seven victims.
Why did Lanza do it? That much, at least publicly, remains a mystery.
He had no criminal record. He and his mother, who collected guns, had visited a gun range at least once, ATF spokeswoman Ginger Colbrun said.

The few who spoke of Lanza publicly, including an aunt and former classmate, described him as very intelligent and quiet.

His father, Peter Lanza, released a statement Saturday saying his family is "grieving along with all those who have been affected by this enormous tragedy."
"We are in a state of disbelief and trying to find whatever answers we can," the father said.

Authorities shared that sentiment. Even as they have offered more details on what happened Friday morning, they haven't given a motive.
"We will and we are searching diligently and nonstop to attempt to answer that," said Vance, the police spokesman.
Tears and hope
At Sunday's memorial service, Obama solemnly read out the first names of those Lanza killed.
"God has called them all home," he said.
Share your tributes
And for every victim, there's a story.
Six-year-old Emilie Parker was "bright, creative and very loving," her father, Robbie Parker, recalled Saturday.

"My daugher Emilie would be one of the first ones to be standing up and giving her love and support to all of those victims, because that is the type of person she is," he said. "...This world is a better place because she has been in it."
Victoria Soto, 27, moved her students away from her first-grade classroom door when she heard gunfire. She is being hailed for having saved some of her students, even though she herself didn't survive.

"She was truly selfless," her mother Donna Soto said Sunday. "She would not hesitate to think to save anyone else before herself and especially children. She loved them more than life."

Many more tears will be shed in the coming days, as victims are laid to rest.
The first two funerals tied to the massacre -- for Noah Pozner and Jack Pinto, both Sandy Hook students -- will begin Monday at noon and 1 p.m. respectively, according to the Connecticut Funeral Directors Association.

Malloy, Connecticut's governor, said Sunday that they will never be forgotten. At the same time, he expressed hope that the strength of community will make a difference.
"We will go on. We will find strength," he said at Sunday's memorial service. "We will get better."
What really makes schools safer?

Instagram Deal

Instagram Deal, Weeks before he accepted a $1 billion offer from Facebook Inc, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom had verbally agreed to sell his photo-sharing company to Twitter Inc for $525 million in March - but then called off the deal, according to a New York Times report citing unnamed sources.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg ultimately acquired Instagram after pushing through a cash-and-stock deal just weeks before Facebook's May initial public offering. The transaction closed in September at a $715 million valuation, reflecting Facebook's stock drop since the offering.

During negotiations with Instagram, Twitter executives had handed Systrom a term sheet outlining the details of the proposed deal, the Times reported, but Systrom later told California state regulators under oath that his company had not received any "formal offers or term sheets" from potential buyers aside from Facebook.

Relations between Twitter, Instagram and Facebook have soured since Facebook successfully swooped for the photo service. Earlier this month Instagram shut off a functionality that allowed Twitter to display Instagram pictures, while Twitter introduced its own photo color-filters to compete with Instagram.

A spokeswoman for Facebook declined comment. Twitter could not be immediately reached for comment.

Saber-toothed cat fossils

Saber-toothed cat fossils,  Researchers say a pair of fossils unearthed in the hills north of Las Vegas belonged to a saber-toothed cat.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports a team from California's San Bernardino County Museum identified the fossils dug up in June as being front leg bones from the extinct predator.

Kathleen Springer, the museum's senior curator, says the saber-tooth fossils are thought to be approximately 15,590 years old.

The discovery marks the first of its kind in the fossil-rich Upper Las Vegas Wash. Springer heads a team that's been studying the wash for a decade and been collecting fossils there under a contract with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management since 2008.

She says the bones of Las Vegas' only known saber-toothed cat are still being studied. There are no immediate plans to display them, but Springer expects that to happen eventually.

'The Hobbit' tops box office with $84.8 million

'The Hobbit' tops box office with $84.8 million, Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" led the box office with an opening of $84.8 million, a start better than the three previous "Lord of the Rings" films.

Studio estimates Sunday had the Warner Bros. 3D epic as the biggest December opening ever, surpassing Will Smith's "I Am Legend," which opened with $77.2 million in 2007.

Despite generally poor reviews, the adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's first novel in the fantasy series was an even bigger draw than the last "Lord of the Rings" films, "The Return of the King." That film opened with $72.6 million.

While Jackson's "Rings" movies drew many Oscar nominations, the path for "The Hobbit" has been rockier. It received no Golden Globes nominations on Thursday. Its 48-frames-per-second, double the usual rate, also has been criticized.

Holiday regifting common among colleagues, survey finds

Holiday regifting common among colleagues, survey finds,  Candy dishes, winter scarves, unmemorable vacation souvenirs – if your office exchanges holiday gifts, unwanted presents from birthdays and holidays past, or even something unwrapped at last year's office party, may find their way under the tree for you.

When it comes to holiday cheer in the workplace, nearly four in 10 workers have passed a gift from a family member off to a colleague or friend, according to an Accounting Principals survey.

Less common, but far from unheard of, is regifting within the same office. About one in six workers admit to having accepted a gift from a colleague, only to then pass it off to another colleague.

Related: Holiday shoppers may see big discounts soon

And, if you do get something brand new, your officemate is likely to have spent less than $50. Three-quarters of workers spend that amount on an office gift exchange, the survey found. A gift to a manager is likely to be more expensive.

However, most gifts are exchanged among colleagues at the same level, or are gifts of appreciation given to support staff, the survey found.

Three-quarters of respondents hope to receive money or gift cards, while one in four say they would be happy with baked goods.

While regifting might be common at the office, if the recipients know their colleagues have been naughty instead of nice, they are not telling. Just 3 percent of those responding to the survey say they have been caught in the act.

Employees are probably expecting some crisp, green cash – and not likely to be regifted – from their employers. Close to 80 percent said they expected a gift from the company, the survey found.

The telephone survey was conducted by Braun Research for Accounting Principals between Nov. 9 and Nov. 13, using a sample of 503 employed Americans who exchanged gifts during the holidays within the last year.

The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.

Millions face higher taxes without 'cliff' fix

Millions face higher taxes without 'cliff' fix, Millions of families and businesses will get hit by big tax increases a lot sooner than many realize if Congress and the White House don't agree on a plan to skirt the year-end fiscal cliff of higher tax rates and big government spending cuts.

In fact, they already have.

More than 70 tax breaks enjoyed by individuals and businesses expired at the end of 2011. If Congress doesn't extend them retroactively back to the beginning of this year, a typical middle-class family could face a $4,000 tax increase when it files its 2012 return in the spring, according to an analysis by H&R Block, the tax preparing giant.

Infographic: What the 'fiscal cliff' means to you

At the same time, businesses could lose dozens of tax breaks they have enjoyed for years, including generous credits for investing in research and development, write-offs for restaurants and retail stores that expand or upgrade, and tax breaks for financial companies with overseas subsidiaries.

Even if Congress does act, last-minute changes to federal tax laws could make it difficult for taxpayers to figure out their 2012 tax bills.

"We're really expecting this upcoming tax season to be one of the more challenging ones on record," said Kathy Pickering, executive director of The Tax Institute at H&R Block. "For your 2012 returns there's so much confusion about what will be impacted."

Much of Washington is consumed by negotiations over how to address automatic tax increases scheduled to take effect next year. That's when tax cuts first enacted under President George W. Bush, and extended under President Barack Obama, are scheduled to expire. A temporary reduction in the Social Security payroll tax is set to vanish as well.

Obama wants to let the Bush-era tax cuts expire on incomes above $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for married couples, while extending the tax cuts for people making less.

House Speaker John Boehner and other Republicans have said they are open to more tax revenue through reducing or eliminating unspecified tax breaks. But Boehner, R-Ohio, opposes Obama's proposal to increase tax rates on high earners.

Related: Boehner offers millionaire tax hike

Lost in the debate is a big package of tax breaks that already expired for 2012. Lawmakers in both parties say they expect those tax cuts to be addressed in any deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff." But they don't want to deal with them separately because that would reduce pressure to reach a broader budget agreement.

The biggest tax increase facing individuals for this year is the alternative minimum tax, or AMT. The tax was first enacted in 1969 to ensure that wealthy people can't use tax breaks to avoid paying any federal taxes. The AMT, however, was never adjusted for inflation, so Congress routinely does that to keep it from imposing hefty tax increases on millions of middle-income families.

Congress last adjusted the AMT in 2010, and about 4 million taxpayers paid it 2011. Without a new adjustment for the 2012 tax year, the AMT would reach an additional 28 million taxpayers, increasing their tax bill by an average of $3,700.

The tax would affect individuals making more $33,750 and married couples making more than $45,000, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

Other expired tax breaks include deductions for college expenses, deductions for state and local sales taxes, and a $250 deduction for teachers who buy classroom supplies with their own money. The sales tax deduction is geared toward taxpayers in states without state income taxes: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.

The tax increases could vary greatly, depending on how much money a person makes and which deductions they qualify for. For example, a single man making $65,000 who paid $6,000 in college tuition and fees would get a tax increase of $837, mainly because he would lose a deduction for college expenses, according to the H&R Block analysis.

A married couple with two young children and a $100,000 income could face a tax increase of more than $6,600, if they live in a state that doesn't have a state income tax. Most of that increase — about $4,015 — would come from the AMT. The AMT would also reduce their tax credits and they would lose a deduction for paying state and local sales taxes.

The AMT is expensive to fix. A two-year adjustment passed by the Senate Finance Committee last summer would save middle-income taxpayers a total of $132 billion in 2012 and 2013, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation, the official scorekeeper for Congress. The bill addressed many of the tax breaks that expired for 2012, and the committee passed it with bipartisan support. But the full Senate never considered it.

The AMT adjustment also includes a rule that affects the way tax credits are calculated for millions of taxpayers, even if they don't have to pay the AMT, the IRS said. These taxpayers may not necessarily face a tax increase, but there could be delays in processing their returns.

Congress has always adjusted the AMT in the past, and the IRS is preparing as if lawmakers will do so again, acting IRS Commissioner Steven T. Miller said in a recent letter to members of Congress. If Congress doesn't address the AMT, about 60 million taxpayers, nearly half of all individual filers, would have to wait until late March — if not later — to file their returns while the IRS reworks its systems, Miller said.

"Essentially, IRS has said it will be chaos — chaos! — trying to make it work," said Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan, the ranking Democrat on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee.

Baby bump for N. Korea's first lady? State TV video suggests so

Baby bump for N. Korea's first lady? State TV video suggests so, The wife of North Korea's young leader might be pregnant, judging by video that shows her with what appears to be a baby bump.

In the video aired on state TV, Ri Sol Ju is shown walking slowly next to her husband, Kim Jong Un, at the mausoleum where his late father's body was unveiled Monday.

There is no official word from Pyongyang about a pregnancy. On the video, Ri is shown wearing a billowing traditional Korean dress in black that makes it difficult to know for sure.

North Koreans are reluctant to discuss details of the Kim family that have not been released by the state. Still there are rumors even in Pyongyang about whether the country's first couple is expecting.

In Newtown, an anguished debate over gun rights, controls

In Newtown, an anguished debate over gun rights, contTwo days after a gunman opened fire in a Connecticut elementary school, killing 26 people, several dozen parents and children gathered in a circle at Newtown's public library to draw something positive from the town's sudden, tragic notoriety.

After several hours of anguished discussion about gun control, and of the responsibilities of parents and community members to prevent more bloodshed, Newtown United was born.

A Facebook and Twitter presence is on the way, and the group is already talking about meetings with elected officials and forming alliances with neighboring towns to push for such action as local automatic weapon bans.

"We have the benefit and the misfortune of being on the national stage right now," said Craig Mittleman, a 49-year-old father of four and an emergency physician. "In a week, everybody's going to be gone and Newtown is going to be just like Columbine, just like Virginia Tech. We're going to be on a list of towns victimized by this insanity."

The group's initial discussion took place as the emotional wounds from the massacre were still raw in this community. After 20-year-old Adam Lanza's mother was killed at their home, he drove 5 miles to Sandy Hook Elementary School, shot his way in and opened fire on staff and students, leaving 20 first-graders and six adults dead before killing himself.rols,
Still, the purpose of the group is not entirely clear. More direct names like Newtown Against Guns and Act Now Newtown were rejected, and the group is also talking about simpler gestures, like building a memorial for the victims.

In Newtown, where it seems like everyone is connected in some way to Friday's massacre, an anguished debate has broken out: how to protect the rights of responsible gun owners, including hunters, while working to prevent another massacre.

Indeed, in this state with a long history of gun manufacturing but some of the strictest gun laws in the country, some residents say they are not ready to lay down their arms. Newtown itself has an active gun culture, residents say.

There is even a vocal minority that argues that if a school official had been armed, Friday's outcome might have been different.

"The gun is not the issue. If someone else there had a gun, maybe they could have stopped this," Benjamin Torres, owner of Betor Roofing in Danbury, said over breakfast at a Newtown diner. "The bad guys are going to get guns illegally anyway."

In the shooting's wake, the complexity of the issue was underscored by geography. Just up the street from Newtown's Reed Intermediate School, where volunteers had set up a grief counseling center, sits the headquarters of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, considered one of the nation's leading gun lobbies after the National Rifle Association.

A PLACE FOR RESTRICTIONS

New England, and specifically Connecticut, was once a center of gun-making. Colt's Patent Manufacturing Co was founded in Hartford, and Remington, Sturm Ruger and Co, and Savage Arms all have Connecticut roots.

The subject of guns took center stage almost immediately after the shooting. A local hunting club suspended outings to avoid tormenting grieving families with the sound of gunfire.

"We thought it would be rather disrespectful considering what they're going through," said Frank Hufner, president of the Newtown Fish and Game Club, which has some 300 members who fish and hunt in the heavily forested hills surrounding Newtown's Sandy Hook neighborhood, where the eponymous school sits.

At Shooters Pistol Range, a firing range in nearby New Milford, the owner said gun owners are being given a bad name, but he largely declined to answer questions.

"I live in that town. My children went to that school. This is not a time to make news," said the range's white-bearded owner, who declined to give his name. "Holiday season is a tough time to lose someone, especially kids, and I'm not going to add to their misery."

He also said he did not trust the press to accurately portray gun enthusiasts. "Many of us are college-educated. I myself have a masters' degree."

On Saturday afternoon at a Dick's Sporting Goods store in Danbury, shoppers milled about the hunting section.

One shopper, 19-year-old Peter Griffin from nearby Redding, said the shooting only strengthened his enthusiasm for guns because killers are more likely to go where there are no guns.

"Personally, I feel safer where there's guns. I don't want to go to any gun-free zones any more," said Griffin, an apprentice cabinet maker who owns three guns.

Newtown-area gun businesses say sales have picked up since President Barack Obama's election, as gun owners fear a crack-down.

"It's absolutely booming right now - anything about guns. People are scared out of their wildest dreams that the FBI is going to come and knock down their doors," said Sean Eldridge, owner of Parker Gunsmithing in nearby Bethel, who specializes in repairing and restoring guns.

TAKING LEADERSHIP

Len Strocchia, 46, who lives 10 houses down from the Lanzas, is no stranger to gun violence. His alma mater, Virginia Tech, was the site of a mass shooting in 2007. He also lost a high school classmate in the 1993 shooting on the Long Island Railroad in New York, which left six people dead and 19 others wounded.

"I'm disgusted that this mass murder took place with legally purchased firearms," said Strocchia, who attended the Newtown meeting with his daughter.

On Sunday, Tim Northrop, a 49-year-old Newtown resident whose next-door neighbor, Anne Marie Murphy, a mother of four, was among the teachers killed, sent letters to Connecticut's U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal and Senator-elect Chris Murphy.

"The people of your state have been assaulted and murdered. We demand that you take leadership in pursuing new gun control legislation," the letter said. "Be the leader that this country is sorely lacking. Have the courage to stand up for those kids that were murdered."

Remembering the victims of the Newtown shooting

Remembering the victims of the Newtown shooting, After the gunfire ended Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the trail of loss was more than many could bear: 20

children and six adults at the school, the gunman's mother at home, and the gunman himself.

Here is a glimpse of some of the victims, many who were at the start of their young lives. Additional victim portraits will be added as they become available.

Obama at Newtown vigil: US 'will have to change'

Obama at Newtown vigil: US 'will have to change', He spoke for a nation in sorrow, but the slaughter of all those little boys and girls left President Barack Obama, like so many others, reaching for words. Alone on a stage after what he described to Gov. Dannel Malloy as the most difficult day of his presidency, the commander in chief was a parent in grief.

"I am very mindful that mere words cannot match the depth of your sorrow, nor can they heal your wounded hearts," Obama said at an evening vigil in the grieving community of Newtown, Conn. "I can only hope that it helps for you to know that you are not alone in your grief."

The massacre of 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary on Friday elicited horror around the world, soul-searching in the United States, fresh political debate about gun control and questions about the incomprehensible — what drove the suspect to act.

It also left a newly re-elected president openly grappling for bigger answers. Obama said that in the coming weeks, he would use "whatever power this office holds" to engage with law enforcement, mental health professionals, parents and educators in an effort to prevent more tragedies like Newtown.

"Can we say that we're truly doing enough to give all the children of this country the chance they deserve to live out their lives in happiness and with purpose? I've been reflecting on this the last few days," Obama said, somber and steady as some in the audience wept.

"If we're honest without ourselves, the answer is no. And we will have to change."

He promised to lead a national effort, but left unclear what it would be, and how much it would address the explosive issue of gun control.

"What choice do we have?" Obama said. "Are we really prepared to say that we're powerless in the face of such carnage, that the politics are too hard?"

As Obama read some of the names of victims early in his remarks, several people broke down, their sobs heard throughout the hall.

He closed his remarks by slowly reading the first names of each of the 26 victims.

"God has called them all home. For those of us who remain, let us find the strength to carry on and make our country worthy of their memory," he said.

For Obama, ending his fourth year in office, it was another sorrowful visit to another community in disbelief. It is the job of the president to be there, to listen and console, to offer help even when the only thing within his grasp is a hug.

All the victims were killed up close by multiple rifle shots.

The toll: six adults. Twenty boys and girls, all of whom were just 6 or 7 years old.

Inside the vigil children held stuffed teddy bears and dogs. The smallest kids sat on their parents' laps.

There were tears and hugs, but also smiles and squeezed arms. Mixed with disbelief was a sense of a community reacquainting itself all at once. One man said it was less mournful, more familial. Some kids chatted easily with their friends. The adults embraced each other in support.

The president first met privately with families of the victims and with the emergency personnel who responded to the shootings. That meeting happened at Newtown High School, the site of Sunday night's interfaith vigil, about a mile and a half from where the shootings took place.

"We're halfway between grief and hope," said Curt Brantl, whose fourth-grade daughter was in the library of the elementary school when the shootings occurred. She was not harmed.

Police and firefighters got hugs and standing ovations when they entered. So did Obama.

"We needed this," said the Rev. Matt Crebbin, senior minister of the Newtown Congregational Church. "We need to be together here in this room. ... We needed to be together to show that we are together and united."

The shootings have restarted a debate in Washington about what politicians can to do help — gun control or otherwise. Obama on Friday called for leaders to agree on "meaningful action" to prevent killings.

Police say the gunman, Adam Lanza, was carrying an arsenal of ammunition big enough to kill just about every student in the school if given enough time. He shot himself in the head just as he heard police drawing near, authorities said.

A Connecticut official said the gunman's mother was found dead in her pajamas in bed, shot four times in the head with a.22-caliber rifle. The killer then went to the school with guns he took from his mother and began blasting his way through the building.

The tragedy plunged the picturesque New England town of 27,000 people into mourning.

"I know that Newtown will prevail, that we will not fall to acts of violence," said First Selectwoman Patricia Llodra. "It is a defining moment for our town, but it does not define us."

A White House official said Obama mainly wrote the speech himself. He worked with presidential speechwriter Cody Keenan, who helped Obama write his speech last year after shootings in Tucson, Ariz., left six dead and 13 wounded, including Rep. Gabby Giffords.

Just this past summer, Obama went to Aurora, Colo., to visit victims and families after a shooting spree at a movie theater in the Denver suburb left 12 dead.

In November 2009, Obama traveled to Fort Hood, Texas, to speak at the memorial service for 13 service members who were killed on the post by another soldier.

After the Colorado shooting in July, the White House made clear that Obama would not propose new gun restrictions in an election year and said he favored better enforcement of existing laws.

Funerals begin for victims of Conn. school shooting

Funerals begin for victims of Conn. school shooting, Mourners in Newtown, Connecticut, headed for the first two of 20 funerals of schoolchildren massacred in their classroom as the rest of the nation on Monday anxiously sent children back to school with tightened security.

Tiny caskets marked the first wave of funerals for the 20 children and six adults killed in the shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday. Noah Pozner and Jack Pinto, both 6 years old, will be laid to rest on Monday afternoon.

President Barack Obama, who said in Newtown on Sunday that the 20-year-old gunman acted out of "unconscionable evil," was heralded by the family of teacher Victoria Soto, 27, who was slain as she tried to protect her first-grade students.

"He really made us feel like she really was a hero and that everyone should know it," her brother, Carlos Soto, said on CBS on Monday.

Obama, addressing an interfaith vigil in the small Connecticut town on Sunday night, spoke forcefully on the country's failings in protecting its children and demanded changes in response to the mass shootings of the last few months.

In photos: Remembering the victims of the Newtown shooting

"We can't tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change," he said, adding that he would bring together law enforcement, teachers, mental health professionals and others to study how to stop the violence.

But before those changes, the families of the victims will grieve.

Noah, 6 years old just last month, was the youngest victim. Reports describe him as "inquisitive" and as particularly mature for his age. The family's rabbi has said he encouraged Noah's mother to focus on her other four children amid the grief.

Jack, also 6, was a wrestler who loved sports. The New York Giants receiver Victor Cruz played Sunday's football game with the boy's name written all over his cleats and gloves.

All the dead children were 6 or 7 years old. The school principal of Sandy Hook Elementary, the school psychologist and four teachers were also gunned down.

At Sunday night's memorial, Obama offered words of hope and promises of action to stop any further tragedies.

"We bear responsibility for every child ... This is our first task, caring for our children. It's our first job. If we don't get that right, we don't get anything right," he said.

The president kept his emotions in tighter check than he did on Friday, when he cried openly while addressing the shooting. But his tears were matched by the packed crowd in the high school auditorium, who wailed when he read the names of the adults and children who were killed.

SCHOOLS READY TO OPEN

While the two boys are laid to rest and the other families prepare their own memorials, schools across the country will attempt to return to business as usual, though there will be signs everywhere of how unusual the situation has become.

Some schools will put on extra security guards. Others will begin their day with a moment of silence. On Twitter, young people nationwide have urged their classmates to wear green and white, the colors of Sandy Hook Elementary School.

"I'm struggling with if I should bring it up at all. And if I do, what am I going to say about it? I'm just praying about it, because I don't know," said Molli Falgout, a first-grade teacher in Kernersville, North Carolina.

In Newtown, schools will not reopen on Monday. The district has said teachers need time to prepare for the students' return.

Instead, the town's youth sports groups have set up a field day of sorts to keep children occupied with athletics, board games and arts and crafts. Schools superintendent Janet Robinson described it as an effort "to help provide some small level of comfort and support to the children in our community."

The community will also have to make a decision about what to do with the bullet-ridden Sandy Hook Elementary, whose students will for now attend classes in an empty school in a neighboring town.

"I think we have to go back into that building at some point. That's how you heal. It doesn't have to be immediately but I sure wouldn't want to give up on it," said local resident Tim Northrop.

A more detailed picture of 20-year-old Adam Lanza's stunning attack emerged on Sunday.

After killing his mother, Nancy Lanza, at home, Adam Lanza shot his way into the school. He had attended Sandy Hook as a child, according to former classmates.

Police said Lanza was armed with hundreds of bullets in high-capacity magazines of about 30 rounds each for the Bushmaster AR 15 rifle and two handguns he carried into the school, and had a fourth weapon, a shotgun, in his car outside. He killed himself in the school.

Investigators are examining forensic evidence and scouring the crime scene in a process likely to extend for weeks.

Students nervously return to school after shooting

Students nervously return to school after shooting,  Richard Cantlupe is bracing himself for his students' return to class.

The American history teacher at Westglades Middle School in Parkland, Fla., has been wrestling with how best to quell their fears when he sees them again Monday, just days after the Connecticut school shooting that left 20 children dead.

Cantlupe says the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., "was like our 9/11 for school teachers."

He and teachers and parents across the country are doing their best to make their children — and themselves — feel safe following Friday's tragedy.

School administrators have pledged to add police patrols, review security plans and make guidance counselors available.

Nervous return to school after shooting

Nervous return to school after shooting, By the time Richard Cantlupe received the news of the Connecticut school shooting that left 20 children dead, his students had already gone home for the weekend.

And so the American history teacher at Westglades Middle School in Parkland, Fla., was bracing himself for an onslaught of painful, often unanswerable questions when they returned to class Monday.

"It's going to be a tough day," he said. "This was like our 9/11 for school teachers."

Cantlupe, whose school is about 50 miles north of Miami, and teachers and parents across the country were wrestling with how best to quell children's fears about returning to school for the first time since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

School administrators have pledged to add police patrols, review security plans and make guidance counselors available.

And yet, it was pretty near impossible to eliminate the anxiety and apprehension many were feeling.

"For them, you need to pretend that you're OK," said Jessica Kornfeld, the mother of 10-year-old twins in Pinecrest, Fla., a suburb of Miami. "But it's scary."

Connecticut Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor said his agency was sending a letter to school superintendents across the state Sunday evening, providing a list of written prompts for classroom teachers to help them address the shooting in Newtown with their students.

"In many instances, teachers will want to discuss the events because they are so recent and so significant, but they won't necessarily know how to go about it," he said.

Cantlupe said he will tell his students that his No. 1 job is to keep them safe, and that like the teachers in Connecticut, he would do anything to make sure they stay out of harm's way. He is also beginning to teach about the Constitution and expects to take questions on the Second Amendment.

"It's going to lead right into the controversy over gun control," he said.
In an effort to ensure their students' safety and calm parents' nerves, school districts across the United States have asked police departments to increase patrols and have sent messages to parents outlining safety plans that they assured them are regularly reviewed and rehearsed.

Some officials refused to discuss plans publicly in detail, but it was clear that vigilance will be high this week at schools everywhere in the aftermath of one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history: Twenty-six people were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School, most children ages 6 and 7. The gunman then shot and killed himself.

Northern Virginia's Fairfax County Public Schools, the largest school system in the Washington area with about 181,000 students, will provide additional police patrols and counselors.

"This is not in response to any specific threat but rather a police initiative to enhance safety and security around the schools and to help alleviate the understandably high levels of anxiety," Superintendent Jack Dale said Sunday.

Dennis Carlson, superintendent of Anoka-Hennepin School District in Minnesota, said a mental health consultant will meet with school officials Monday, and there will be three associates — one to work with the elementary, middle and high schools, respectively. As the day goes on, officials will be on the lookout for any issues that arise, and extra help will go where needed.

"We are concerned for everybody — our staff and student body and parents," Carlson said. "It's going to be a day where we are all going to be hypervigilant, I know that."

In Tucson, Ariz., where a gunman in January 2011 killed six and wounded 12 others, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the largest school district in the state increased security after Friday's shooting. Planning was under way at the Tucson Unified School District to help teachers and students with grief and fear, and the district was working with Tucson police on security, district spokeswoman Cara Rene said.

In the Chicago Public Schools, the nation's third-largest school district, officials said they would reiterate their existing safety and emergency-management plans to keep more than 400,000 students safe, and deploy police or counselors to schools as needed.

"With this incident, we took it as an opportunity to remind all of our principals to review and refresh their individual emergency-management plans and remind staff of standard safety protocol," said Chief Safety and Security Officer Jadine Chou.
Many schools will be holding a moment of silence Monday and will fly flags at half-staff.

Meanwhile, at home, many parents were trying their best to allay their children's fears while coping with their own. Kornfeld said her town is a lot like Newtown: a place where people generally feel safe being at home without the doors locked and playing outside after school.

"Why would that happen there?" she said. "It kind of rocks everything."
She sat down with her son and daughter after school Friday and explained to them what had happened. She reminded her children that they were with her, and safe.
"But it could have been us," her son replied.

Hoping to reassure them, she drove the children to their elementary school over the weekend. She wanted them to know it was still a safe place.
"Our school is the same as it was when you left," she told them. "It's going to be fine."
___
Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Jay Reeves in Birmingham, Ala.; Brett Zongker in Washington; Bob Christie in Phoenix; Holbrook Mohr in Jackson, Miss.; Amy Forliti in Minneapolis; Michelle Nealy in Chicago; Susan Haigh in Norwich, Conn.; and Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, S.C.

Indiana Jones mail

Indiana Jones mail, University of Chicago officials are puzzled by a mystery piece of mail seemingly linked to the Indiana Jones movie series.

The Chicago Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/UKalM8) that the university's admissions department received a package last week addressed to "Henry Walton Jones Jr." That's the main character's name in the popular film franchise that began in 1980s.

The package contained a replica of the journal from the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" film — and no explanation.

University officials turned to Tumblr for answers.Admissions counselor Grace Chapin says one theory is that it's an "alternate reality" game where players plant clues for others.

Officials with Lucasfilm, the studio that made the movies, say they weren't responsible for the package.
University officials say they haven't decided what to do with the journal.

School shooting social media

School shooting social media, Residents of Newtown, Connecticut, took to social media Friday to share their fear, shock and horror over the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School......CNN

Several people on Twitter expressed concerns about relatives who attend or work at the school, where a law-enforcement official said at least 18 children were slain after gunfire erupted Friday morning.

Others posted images from the scene and from a nearby fire station, where survivors were taken. A hospital in nearby Danbury posted a Facebook update late Friday morning saying that three victims were being treated there.

In what now seems like a much more innocent time, the school hosted a winter concert Thursday. Principal Dawn Hochsprung, who was killed in the shootings, had posted a photo on Twitter Wednesday of a rehearsal for the concert.

Southwest No-Show Fee

Southwest No-Show Fee, Southwest Airlines Co. will start charging a no-show fee for passengers who fail to cancel tickets before their flights.The company also said Friday that fees on early check-in and oversized bags are going up. And it repeated a longtime goal for boosting profits that could only be met next year if it doubles earnings.

Southwest brags that it doesn't charge ticket-change fees, and it lets customers apply the price of an unused ticket to a later trip.

But customers who take advantage of those policies are leaving too many seats empty, the airline says.

So beginning sometime next year, Southwest will charge a no-show fee on its cheapest fares, known as "Wanna Get Away" tickets. Neither the date nor the amount of the fee has been set.

CEO Gary Kelly said the Southwest fee will bring the airline closer in line with policies at other airlines and won't alienate customers."By our research, customers understand that we all could benefit — customers and the company — from the opportunity to resell a seat," Kelly said. "Once the airplane takes off and (a seat) is empty, we can't ever reclaim that."

The airline expects to raise $100 million next year from the new fee and increases in current fees, part of a plan to boost revenue by $1.3 billion in 2013 over 2012.Southwest is on pace for revenue this year of about $17.5 billion based on figures from 2011 and the first nine months of 2012. Executives discussed the plan at an investor conference Friday in New York.

Southwest has long had a goal of boosting return on investment by 15 percent per year but hasn't been able to do it. An analyst at the conference told Kelly that hitting the target next year would be heroic.

Kelly acknowledged that it would require at least doubling the company's earnings, but he didn't back away.

"We're looking for our revenue initiatives to take hold in 2013 in a way that would produce very strong earnings," he said, adding that such a goal assumed a growing economy and stable jet fuel prices.

Southwest officials said holiday bookings were strong and that they plan cost-cutting steps including eliminating 300 jobs through attrition.

In recent years, Southwest has bombarded TV viewers with "bags fly free" commercials to highlight that it doesn't charge customers for their first two checked bags or for changing a reservation — both fees are standard on most other major U.S. airlines.Southwest executives said they're not thinking about imposing those fees, but would announce other changes Saturday.

Executives said the fee for overweight bags will rise to $100 from $50, and early check-in, which helps move passengers toward the front of the boarding line and assure space for their bag in the overhead bins, will go to $12.50 from $10.

Southwest's AirTran Airways subsidiary will raise its fees for checking bags to $25 for the first bag, up from $20, and to $35 for the second, up from $25, said AirTran president Robert Jordan. Southwest has promised to end AirTran's bag fees when it folds AirTran into the Southwest fleet over the next few years.

The company also said October's Superstorm Sandy, which caused canceled flights in the Northeast, will reduce fourth-quarter operating profit by between $15 million and $20 million. Shares of Southwest rose 11 cents to $10.25 in afternoon trading.

Two police officers killed

Two police officers killed, Police in Topeka, Kansas are mourning the loss of two of their own, as Cpl. David Gogian and Officer Jeff Atherly lost their lives on Sunday, December 16.

Topeka Police Chief Ronald Miller, who describes the incident as "unspeakable," explains that, immediately after the officers arrived at the scene, a man shot at them from inside the vehicle.

They were detached to a grocery store, when another officer called for back-up. The third officer was not injured, reports say.

"I don't believe they had any idea this situation was going to go this direction as quickly as it did," Miller says.

50-year-old Gogian and 29-year-old Atherly responded to a report about a suspicious vehicle, after 6 p.m., CBS News writes. While the latter was "just getting started" in law enforcement, having been with the department in April 2011, Gogian has a long career with the PD.

He joined the Topeka police in September 2004. Prior to that, he was active in the Army.

"He had spent his life in service to his country and in the city of Topeka," the chief tells interviewers.

"It's clearly beyond words. It's unspeakable almost about why this happens and why this is happening in America at this stage in our history," he adds.

According to an eyewitness account, three gun clips were emptied in the shooting, with several shots following a moment of silence.

Police were able to locate the vehicle 10 blocks from the grocery store. Witnesses state that the suspect was not alone in the car at the time.

Police identified the gunman as a 22-year-old man with a criminal record. His name has not been released yet, and he remains at large at this point.

No motive for the killing has been found until now. The reason for which the vehicle was dubbed suspicious has not been released to the press.

Furious Patriots rally

Furious Patriots rally, The San Francisco 49ers blew a 31-3 third-quarter lead but managed to pull out a wild 41-34 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday night.

The win clinched an NFC playoff spot for the Niners (10-3-1), while the Patriots (10-4) saw their seven-game winning streak end.

The loss also New England's 20-game home December winning streak and a 13-game overall December winning streak.
After Colin Kaepernick threw three touchdown passes, one to ex-Patriot Randy Moss, to give the visitors a 28-point lead with 10:21 left in the third quarter on a cold, rainy night, Tom Brady brought the Patriots all the way back.

Danny Woodhead scored on two runs, and Brady scored on a fourth-down sneak and threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Hernandez, Brady's 467th consecutive game with a TD pass.

After Woodhead tied the game with a 1-yard run with 6:43 left, it took the Niners, who have won four of their last five, 20 seconds to get the decisive touchdown.

LaMichael James ran the kickoff back 62 yards to the New England 38-yard line, and San Francisco scored on the next play. Kaepernick, now 4-1 as a starter, hit Michael Crabtree with a short pass, but Crabtree eluded Kyle Arrington and sprinted into the end zone for his second touchdown of the game.

Two penalties on late punts killed the Patriots, who turned the ball over four times to lose the turnover battle for the first time this season. After the second penalty, which pinned them on their 3-yard line, they failed on a fourth-and-2 from their 12, and the 49ers got a 28-yard field goal from David Akers with 1:56 left.

Brady then took his team down the field, and the Patriots elected to take a field goal, a 41-yarder by Stephen Gostkowski, on second down. The kick came with 38 seconds left. The Patriots then tried an onside kick, but the Niners recovered.

Kaepernick completed 14 of 25 passes for 216 yards, four TDs and an interception. Crabtree made seven receptions for 107 yards.


San Francisco's Frank Gore ran 21 times for 83 yards, and he recovered a fumble for a touchdown.

Brady finished 36-for-65 for 443 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. New England's Wes Welker, who had five catches for 56 yards, became the first receiver in NFL history with five 100-catch seasons. Brandon Lloyd, in his second big game in a row after a tough rest of the season, caught 10 passes for 190 yards. Recently re-signed Deion Branch had four receptions for 37 yards.

The loss cost the Patriots a chance at their third straight perfect second half of the season. They had gone 8-0 in the second half of the last two seasons, and were 5-0 this year before the Sunday night defeat.


By all rights, the 49ers probably should have held a 24-0 lead by the early moments of the second quarter. Instead, thanks to a weird series of events in the rain, it was only 7-3 after Brady led his team to a 32-yard Gostkowski field goal with 8:31 left in the first half.


A New England lost fumble was overturned, but the Patriots punted on their first possession, and Kaepernick took his team down the field with completions of 11, 13, 12 and 24 yards, the latter a touchdown pass to Moss. With the scoring grab, his second catch of the game, Moss moved past Isaac Bruce into third place on the NFL's all-time receiving yardage list. Bruce finished with 15,208 yards.

Brady threw an interception later in the quarter but prevented Carlos Rogers from scoring by tackling him on the New England 5. Delanie Walker fumbled it right back to the Pats after a reception.

A fake punt (a 31-yard, direct-snap run by Dashon Goldson) put the Niners in position to score again, but David Akers missed a 39-yard field goal. A Shane Vereen fumble gave the ball right back to San Francisco, but the Niners failed on a fourth-down sneak (the third dropped snap of the game).


This time, Brady took his team to the field goal, but an obvious pass-interference call on Aqib Talib set the 49ers up again. This time, Kaepernick hit Walker with the 34-yard touchdown pass with 6:54 left in the half.

A lengthy delay followed a Zoltan Mesko punt later in the second quarter, as the officials correctly decided to leave the ball with the 49ers after San Francisco return man Ted Ginn didn't touch the ball. Taking over on their 22, the Niners marched down the field, with Kaepernick scrambling for 19 yards on a third-and-8 from the New England 34.

The ball got down to the Patriots' 4-yard line before an interference call on Moss in the end zone put it back to the 14. Kaepernick ran it back to the 4, and Gore gained 2 yards before Akers hit a 20-yard field goal to make it 17-3 at the break.


NOTES: New England converted just two of 15 third-down attempts. ... The Patriots wore stickers on their helmets and joined the rest of the NFL with a moment of silence to honor the people killed in Newtown, Conn. One flare was sent into the air for each of the 26 victims. ... Moss shook hands with Patriots owner Robert Kraft before the game. ...

The Patriots visit Jacksonville next Sunday, while the 49ers play at Seattle. ... New England honored its five Hall of Famers -- John Hannah, Nick Buoniconti, Mike Haynes, Curtis Martin and Andre Tippett -- in conjunction with Canton's 50th anniversary. Martin, Haynes and Tippett were introduced before the game and joined the current captains for the coin toss. ...

The teams met for the first time since 2008. ... Both teams were missing key receivers. Mario Manningham (shoulder) was out for the Niners, who lost Kyle Williams for the season Nov. 25. New England tight end Rob Gronkowski was sidelined due to a broken arm. Gronkowski returned to light practice leading up to the game, but he missed his fourth consecutive game.

Kelly Osbourne weight loss

Kelly Osbourne weight loss, As the daughter of Sharon and Ozzy, and one of the stars of the iconic reality show The Osbournes, Kelly Osbourne has been taunted and criticized in the tabloids, not so much for her wild-child ways—or even her drug addiction—but for her weight. "I was called fat and ugly in the press almost my entire life," says the 26-year-old.

"I understand that being judged by others comes with the territory, but it broke my heart and ruined my self-esteem. It sets you up to hate yourself in a huge way. I was so angry about the things people said about me. I truly believe it's the main reason I turned to Vicodin and ended up in rehab three times.

I just hated myself."In early 2009, Kelly Osbourne walked out of Oregon's Hazelden Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation Center drug-free—but still dealing with major confidence issues. "I replaced the drugs with food and just got fatter and fatter," she says (see Kelly’s Then and Now photos). "I'm an emotional eater (top 25 natural appetite suppressants). When I get upset, my diet goes out the window." It wasn't until she signed up for Dancing With the Stars six months later, she says, that she realized how bad her diet really was. "I'd fill up on French fries and pizza all day and wonder why I wasn't losing weight. In the very beginning, I kept getting sick during rehearsals because I was eating such terrible, fatty food and feeling so exhausted."

It was her dance partner, Louis van Amstel, who taught her about nutrition. "He made me eat turkey burgers and salads and explained to me that a high-protein, low-carb diet would keep me energized," she says. "Then I started losing weight and realized, 'Oh, it's true what they say: Diet and exercise really work!' " (Find out how another Dancing With the Stars competitor got her sexy body)

Kelly lost 20 pounds during her stint on the show, but once she hung up her dancing shoes, the weight began to creep back on. "I put on 3 or 4 pounds, and I didn't like it one bit," she says. "I thought, 'Kelly, you've come this far, let's see what you can really do!' " Her mother, Sharon, whom Kelly calls her biggest inspiration, hooked her up with her trainer, Sarah Hagaman, and the three began working out together by taking long hikes a few times a week in the Hollywood Hills. After a month, Kelly was ready to hit the gym.

Kelly Osbourne Weight Loss Revelation #2: "I Stopped Hating the Way I Looked"
In the beginning, the hardest part wasn't the workout, it was seeing her reflection in the mirror. "I would look at myself and think, 'Ugh!' I was miserable. To get to the gym—when you already don't like yourself—is really hard. So I had to make it fun. I started wearing cute outfits and putting on a little bit of makeup. And as vain as it sounds, it really helped me because eventually I stopped hating the way I looked." See Kelly and other amazing celebrity before and after weight loss pictures.

Now that she's committed to her routine, Kelly stays motivated by getting her friends to join her for workout classes. "My girlfriends and I just started doing plyometrics," she says. "It's a killer—it hurts so much. But when you walk out of there, you're like, 'I can't believe I just did that and my body looks this good.' "

Kelly Osbourne Weight Loss Revelation #3: "I've Finally Learned How to Do it Right"
Over the last nine months, Kelly's dropped another 30 pounds, bringing her weight loss to a total of 50. "I used to eat chips and cookies and drink soda all day long," she admits. "I had to start making better choices." (Click here to find out what Kelly Osbourne eats almost every day.) She still sticks to her diet, but at 5'2" and 112 pounds, she doesn't want to lose any more weight—so she's added back in some of her old favorites. "I indulge with pizza (find out how you can eat pizza and lose weight) and cheese—I love Brie—and have cookies sometimes," she admits. "But now, when I'm full? I stop eating! It may have taken me 26 years to figure it out, but I've finally learned how to do it right."

And all that crazy hard work has paid off—big time. "Ultimately, I'm really glad I lost the weight the way I did," says Kelly. "I never thought in a million years I'd be that healthy girl who wakes up every morning to exercise. After being called 'cherubic and chubby,' I'm rocking a bikini! I feel silly, but I think I'm going to cry. Being on the cover of SHAPE is the biggest victory I could ever hope for."

Packers VS. Bears

Packers VS. Bears, The Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears 21-13 at Soldier Field to add to their recent dominance of the Monsters of the Midway.

The Packers have beaten Da Bears six straight times now, including four straight at Soldier Field and the 2010 NFC Championship Game.

The victory was very important to the Packers in many ways, as I'll name my winners and losers for the Pack in Sunday's game.

Berlusconi Engaged Francesca Pascale

Berlusconi Engaged Francesca Pascale, Silvio Berlusconi has sought to draw a line under his "bunga bunga" parties when he announced he was engaged to his girlfriend 50 years his junior, who makes him feel "less lonely".In a wide-ranging interview aired on the talk show 'Domenica Live' on his Canale 5 TV network, the 76-year-old billionaire said he was engaged to Francesca Pascale, his 27-year old girlfriend.
"Finally I feel less lonely," Mr Berlusconi said. "I am engaged to a Neapolitan, it's official.

"She is 27 years old, with very solid values, beautiful on the outside and even more beautiful on the inside.
"She is very close to me, she loves me very much and I feel the same. My daughter Marina appreciates her and loves her very much too."
Mr Berlusconi does not appear to have let his second marriage get in the way of his engagement announcement.He has five children from two marriages but is yet to reach agreement with Veronica Lario on the terms of their divorce. Recent media reports suggest no agreement has been reached on the settlement. His first wife was Carla Elvira Dall'Oglio, who he was married to from 1965 to 1985. He married Ms Lario in 1990.

Mr Berlusconi plans to launch his fourth bid to be prime minister in elections expected to be held in February next year unless the current technocrat Prime Minister Mario Monti decides to run for office.

The tycoon also used Sunday's interview to lash out at the Milan trial where he is fighting charges that he paid for sex with an under age prostitute, the then 17-year-old exotic dancer, Karima El-Mahroug, better known as "Ruby the Heart Stealer".
Mr Berlusconi and she have denied the charges.

Asked about the so-called 'bunga bunga' parties, he said: "It was a time when I felt very lonely. I had just got divorced, my sister had died.
"Then someone said: 'Why don't we organise some soirées?' I was tricked."
Describing the Ruby trial as an "incredible machination", he added: "It was an excuse to put in place a giant operation for defamation against me and against the Italian government, including on an international level.

"Politicians get used to all kinds of slights after 20 years in politics. But there is one thing that cries out for vengeance before God and before man. I have been sentenced by a panel of judges in Milan!"

There have been rumours about his latest relationship for months and the couple was photographed together recently while watching Mr Berlusconi's football team, AC Milan.

The romance was confirmed by one of the media tycoon's most vocal supporters, Daniela Santanche, an MP in his People of Freedom (PDL) party, and one Italian newspaper recently described her as Italy's new "first lady".

A former shop assistant, Miss Pascale served as a provincial councillor in Mr Berlusconi's centre-Right PDL party until she stepped down in July.
She was one of the founding members of a Berlusconi support group called "Silvio, we miss you".

"Little by little she worked in my political organisation, then close to me," he said. "She is a great friend of Marina's." Marina, 46, is the oldest daughter of Mr Berlusconi.

Mr Berlusconi's fiancée has said that her life revolves around three things – her family, politics, and him – and is said to be jealous of other women in his inner circle, including Mara Carfagna, a glamour model whom he appointed equal opportunities minister in his last government.

Names of Sandy Hook Victims

Names of Sandy Hook Victims,  Authorities have released the names of the 26 people gunned down in a rampage at a Connecticut elementary school.

All six adults killed at the school were women. Of the 20 children who were shot to death, eight were boys and 12 were girls. All the children were ages 6 or 7.

Charlotte Bacon DOB 2/22/06
Daniel Barden DOB 9/25/05
Rachel Davino DOB 7/17/83
Olivia Engel DOB 7/18/06
Josephine Gay DOB 12/11/05
Ana M. Marquez-Greene DOB 4/4/06
Dylan Hockley DOB 3/8/06
Dawn Hocksprung DOB 6/28/65
Madeleine F Hsu DOB 7/10/06
Catherine V Hubbard DOB 6/8/06
Chase Kowalski DOB 10/31/05
Jesse Lewis DOB 6/30/06 ale
James Mattioli DOB 3/22/06
Grace McDonnell DOB 11/4/05
Anne Marie Murphy DOB 7/25/60
Emilie Parker DOB 5/12/06
Jack Pinto DOB 5/06/06
Noah Pozner DOB 11/20/06
Caroline Previdi DOB 09/07/06
Jessica Rekos DOB 05/10/06
Avielle Richman DOB 10/17/06
Lauren Russeau DOB
Mary Sherlach DOB 02/11/56
Victoria Soto DOB 11/04/85
Benjamin Wheeler DOB 09/12/06
Allison N. Wyatt DOB 07/03/06

Authorities say 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot his mother on Friday, drove her car to Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, and shot 20 children, six adults and himself.

The massacre of 26 children and adults at a Connecticut elementary school elicited horror and soul-searching around the world even as it raised more basic questions about why the gunman, a 20-year-old described as brilliant but remote, was driven to such a crime and how he chose his victims.Investigators were trying to learn more about Adam Lanza and questioned his older brother, who was not believed to have been involved in the rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary. Police shed no light on the motive for the second-deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.

In tight-knit Newtown on Friday night, hundreds of people packed St. Rose of Lima Church and stood outside in a vigil for the 28 dead - 20 children and six adults at the school, the gunman's mother at home, and the gunman himself, who committed suicide. People held hands, lit candles and sang "Silent Night."

Rahm Emanuel Gun Control

Rahm Emanuel Gun Control, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Saturday joined politicians calling for new gun-control measures in the wake of the shooting in Newtown, Conn.

“There is no parent and no grandparent in America that is not a resident to Sandy Hook, Connecticut,” the former White House chief of staff said.

A ban on carrying concealed weapons in Illinois was overturned by an appeals court just last week. “There is nobody that had their child last night, that didn’t hold them a little closer, pull them in a little tighter, didn't hug them a little more,” Emanuel said.

Missing ASU Student

Missing ASU Student, The body of a missing Arizona State University student who hails from Orange County has reportedly been found.

A candlelight vigil was held last Thursday evening for 19-year-old Jack Culolias. Family and friends gathered in Brea where Culolias went to high school.

Culolias, who was a freshman at ASU, was last seen after a fraternity party on November 30th. One of his shoes was found near the Salt River.

Philippines Typhoon Death Toll

Philippines Typhoon Death Toll, The death toll from a typhoon that ravaged the southern Philippines in early December has risen to more than 1,000 and could go higher, the government said on Sunday. Typhoon Bopha was the worst natural disaster to hit the country this year.The death toll from a typhoon that devastated the southern Philippines earlier this month has topped 1,000 as hundreds more remain missing, the government said on Sunday.

Typhoon Bopha killed 1,020 people, mostly on the southern island of Mindanao where floods and landslides caused major damage on December 4, civil defence chief Benito Ramos said.

A total of 844 people remain missing, about half of them fishermen who ventured out to sea before Bopha hit, Ramos said, adding he feared many of the missing were dead.

"The death toll will go higher. We found a lot of bodies yesterday, buried under fallen logs and debris," he told AFP.

He added the toll from Bopha, the worst natural disaster to hit the country this year, would exceed the 1,268 confirmed dead after Typhoon Washi struck the southern Philippines in December 2011.

"We prepared. We were just simply overwhelmed," said Ramos.

"They did not expect this intensity. The last time (this part of the country) got hit by a strong storm was 1912," he added.

He added that many evacuation centres were destroyed by the typhoon.

More than 27,000 people remain in such centres almost two weeks after Bopha hit as the search for the dead and missing continues, the civil defence office said.

Colonel Lyndon Paniza, spokesman of the military forces in the worst-affected region, was less optimistic of finding any survivors.

"We are on (body) retrieval mode already. We are done with search and rescue," he told AFP.

Paniza, who oversees the hardest-hit regions which suffered over 960 dead, said he expected the death toll to rise further.

"It has been 12 days already so it looks like (survival chances) are doubtful," he said.

Among the casualties were seven soldiers who were killed and four who remain missing after they were hit by flash floods while doing relief work, he said.

In the southern town of New Bataan, which suffered over 500 dead, including 235 bodies that are still unidentified, people still struggled to recover, building makeshift shelters out of scrap wood and rags.

Town Mayor Lorenzo Balbin said the toll of the dead may even be larger than the official lists because many transients, who pass through the town of work on small-scale mines and plantations, do not even register as residents.

With no one to report them missing, their deaths may go unnoticed, he said.

The situation in the town, which was largely flattened by the typhoon, had improved slightly as more relief aid was reaching the area.

Trucks from government and private relief agencies were seen entering New Bataan, handing out much-needed food to villagers still stunned by the storm's fury.

Balbin said the focus now was on finding new crops to replace those destroyed by the typhoon.

The storm has caused massive damage to infrastructure and agriculture, destroying large tracts of coconut and banana trees.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council initially estimated damage to crops and public infrastructure at 7.16 billion pesos ($174 million).

The Philippines is hit by about 20 major storms or typhoons each year that occur mainly during the rainy season between June and October. Bopha was the strongest typhoon to strike this year.