Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/12/30/groovboard-lap-desk-stand-review/
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Monday, December 31, 2012
GroovBoard Lap Desk & Stand review
If you use the Apple wireless keyboard with your iPad, you’ve probably run into the problem of not being able to easily use the combo on your lap. I have a solution for you… it’s the GroovBoard Lap Desk and Stand. It’s made of solid wood and can be used several ways. Let me show [...]
Apple Pulls Legal Crosshairs off Galaxy S III Mini
Riddle us this: Why file a patent claim against a device that isn't actually going to be sold in the jurisdiction ? let alone, the country ? of where you're filing the claim?
Such has been the peculiarity presented to Apple, which announced on Friday that it's no longer pursuing patent claims against Samsung's Galaxy S3 Mini smartphone. Samsung has said that it is not, "making, using, selling, offering to sell or importing the Galaxy S III Mini in the United States," and has maintained this stance ever since Apple asked a California court to add the device to Apple's latest patent dispute last month.
Apple won its first round of patent litigation against Samsung this past August, but that hardly put an end to the two companies' legal squabbles ? which includes Samsung's desire to lessen the approximately $1 billion in damages that it faces juxtaposed against Apple's interest in amending a second round of patent claims to add as many recently released and allegedly infringing Samsung devices as it can.
In other words, Apple's second patent infringement lawsuit includes devices (and claims) that the company didn't address in its first round of patent litigation. And Apple has been zealous about amending its filling to include more Samsung devices as warranted. Samsung, in turn, has been granted permission to add Apple's iPhone 5 to its own patent infringement claims. Both of these trials won't kick off until 2014.
Apple initially argued that its ability to purchase a Galaxy S3 Mini smartphone from Amazon, and have it billed and shipped to a U.S. address, was enough to qualify that the device was being sold in the U.S. And, as such, Apple argued that it should be allowed to include the smartphone as part of the list of current devices that Apple claims infringe its patents.
As part of Apple's withdrawal, the company indicated that it would do so, "so long as the current withdrawal will not prejudice Apple's ability later to accuse the Galaxy S III Mini if the factual circumstances change," as reported by Reuters.
Samsung launched the four-inch Galaxy S III Mini in Europe in November, which numerous pundits saw as a direct assault against Apple's similarly sized iPhone 5. At the time of Apple's request to add the Galaxy S III Mini to its lawsuit, there was plenty of talk that Samsung might bring the smartphone to U.S. markets ? which explains Apple's interest in bringing the full weight of its legal efforts to bear.
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For more tech tidbits from David Murphy, follow him on Facebook or Twitter (@thedavidmurphy).
Source: http://feeds.ziffdavis.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/breakingnews/~3/n8SFzpfr2ug/0,2817,2413664,00.asp
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Sunday, December 30, 2012
Green printing is a demand of people on the protection of the living ...
According to statistics, green advertising increased almost ten times in the past twenty years. This result suggests that the consumers have seriously paid great attention to green advertising, and also this becomes a great demand of government and enterprises to participate in all sorts of international competitions at present. In the companies of many developing countries, all kinds of traditional plate making and printing technology remain to take up a large market share. However, the conditions are totally different in the companies of many developed countries. For example, the modern green advertising technology has been very popularly used by advertising companies. Therefore, custom banner printing in New York, which can produce a green effect, has attained a very rapid development. In the process of printing, it is very easy for ink solvent, isopropyl alcohol and car washing water to pollute the environment. The effect of water, waste gas, and even noise on the front-line workers of enterprises should never be ignored. Also, these printing production processes will certainly impose a threat to the living environment of people. All these problems are necessary to solve. Fortunately, custom banner printing technology with a green effect can be a very good form. Therefore, the printing industry in the future should change greening task to a habit, but no longer a slogan. In this process, green printing must become an integral part of all enterprises in the world. Meanwhile, green printing will be a thoroughly popular green idea, but never a simple printing behavior.
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Retire Here, Not There: South Carolina - MarketWatch
By Catey Hill
Spend a day or two in the Palmetto State, and you may quickly understand the state slogan??smiling faces and beautiful places.? The state?s Lowcountry region, which extends 150 miles along the state?s coast, is renowned for its miles of sugary white-sand beaches, historic architecture and abundant golf courses.
And as for those smiles, if the retired folks in South Carolina seem relaxed, it may be because they?re enjoying a more low-key lifestyle, and less congestion, than they would a little further south among their brethren in Florida. While a growing number of people have been flocking to the state for its mild winters and slower pace, the state remains a bit of an ?undiscovered gem,? says Laura Scharr-Bykowsky, a principal at Ascend Financial Planning in Columbia, S.C. What?s more, the state boasts low property taxes and no state estate tax.
Of course, the state has its drawbacks, too. Summers are often hot and humid, and Palmetto State summers can be dominated by the palmetto bug?the state?s version of an extra-large cockroach. While many of the state?s smaller cities and towns offer a good mix of cultural offerings, residents say much of the area offers relatively little in the way of shopping or night life.
There are exceptions to the ?undiscovered? rule, too, and some of the state?s more popular destinations have gotten pricey. Take Hilton Head Island, a Lowcountry resort about a 45-minute drive from Savannah, Ga., famously frequented by former President Bill Clinton and his family for vacations. All the extra attention has helped to lift prices: The cost of living is 33% higher than the national average and the median home price is $305,700, according to Sperling?s Best Places.
Still, for those looking for a warm and friendly retirement retreat, there are plenty of cheaper alternatives. Here are four.
Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/retire-here-not-there-south-carolina-2012-12-27
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Woman charged with murder in NYC subway death
NEW YORK (AP) ? A woman who told police she shoved a man to his death off a subway platform into the path of a train because she has hated Muslims since Sept. 11 and thought he was one was charged Saturday with murder as a hate crime, prosecutors said.
Erika Menendez was charged in the death of Sunando Sen, who was crushed by a 7 train in Queens on Thursday night, the second time this month a commuter has died in such a nightmarish fashion.
Menendez, 31, was awaiting arraignment on the charge Saturday evening, Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said. She could face 25 years to life in prison if convicted. She was in custody and couldn't be reached for comment, and it was unclear if she had an attorney.
Menendez, who was arrested after a tip by a passer-by who saw her on a street and thought she looked like the woman in a surveillance video released by police, admitted shoving Sen, who was pushed from behind, authorities said.
"I pushed a Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers I've been beating them up," Menendez told police, according to the district attorney's office.
Sen was from India, but police said it was unclear if he was Muslim, Hindu or of some other faith. The 46-year-old lived in Queens and ran a printing shop. He was shoved from an elevated platform on the 7 train line, which connects Manhattan and Queens. Witnesses said a muttering woman rose from her seat on a platform bench and pushed him on the tracks as a train entered the station and then ran off.
The two had never met before, authorities said, and witnesses told police they hadn't interacted on the platform.
Police released a sketch and security camera video showing a woman running from the station where Sen was killed.
Menendez was arrested by police earlier Saturday after a passer-by on a Brooklyn street spotted her and called 911. Police responded, confirmed her identity and took her into custody, where she made statements implicating herself in the crime, police spokesman Paul Browne said.
The district attorney said such hateful remarks about Muslims and Hindus could not be tolerated.
"The defendant is accused of committing what is every subway commuter's worst nightmare," he said.
On Dec. 3, another man was pushed to his death in a Times Square subway station. A photo of the man clinging to the edge of the platform a split second before he was struck by a train was published on the front page of the New York Post, causing an uproar about whether the photographer, who was catching a train, or anyone else should have tried to help him.
A homeless man was arrested and charged with murder in that case. He claimed he acted in self-defense and is awaiting trial.
It's unclear whether anyone tried ? or could have tried ? to help Sen on Thursday.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday urged residents to keep Sen's death in perspective as he touted new historic lows in the city's annual homicide and shooting totals.
"It's a very tragic case, but what we want to focus on today is the overall safety in New York," Bloomberg told reporters following a police academy graduation.
But commuters still expressed concern over subway safety and shock about the arrest of Menendez on a hate crime charge.
"For someone to do something like that ... that's not the way we are made," said David Green, who was waiting for a train in Manhattan. "She needs help."
Green said he caught himself leaning over the subway platform's edge and realized maybe he shouldn't do that.
"It does make you more conscious," he said of the deaths.
Such subway deaths are rare, but other high-profile cases include the 1999 fatal shoving of aspiring screenwriter Kendra Webdale by a former psychiatric patient. That case led to a state law allowing for more supervision of mentally ill people living outside institutions.
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Associated Press writer Karen Matthews contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/woman-charged-murder-ny-subway-shove-death-223404308.html
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Saturday, December 29, 2012
Dave Johnson: No More Lucy Filibuster-Fix Footballs
There is a chance to reform the filibuster in January, with a proposal to "make them talk." Will the Charlie Browns in the Senate let Lucy pull away the football yet again? As George W. Bush said, "Fool me once, shame on -- shame on you. Fool me -- you can't get fooled again."
In recent years Senate Republicans have used the filibuster to block over 380 bills and nominations. There has been a terrible cost to the country as Republicans blocked bill after bill, solution after solution, nomination after nomination. (They even blocked the Disclose Act which would have let the public know just who is paying them to obstruct.)
Constitutional Option
Two years ago there was an attempt to reform the filibuster, using "the constitutional option" which involves changing the rules at the start of a new Congress, which happens the January after an election. According to The Brennan Center for Justice article, A Short History of the Constitutional Option:
The Senate's authority to change its rules by a majority vote stems directly from the Constitution, which authorizes the chamber to "determine the Rules for its Proceedings." And unlike other legislative actions, such as expelling members or ratifying treaties, the Constitution does not require a supermajority to approve rules changes.
The 2011 effort to change Senate rules and make it more difficult for an obstructionist minority to block the will of We, the People was stymied by Senate leadership, with an agreement between Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell that "Republicans would make an effort to filibuster less."
Of course, Lucy pulled away the football Republicans went back on that agreement and filibustered ... everything.
Make Them Talk
Now another new Congress will convene in January, 2013, and another effort is underway to reform the filibuster. This new proposal in front of the Senate to reform the filibuster returns to the form of filibuster that the public understands, namely talking all night.
But now there is a "bipartisan" proposal to head this off, offering to really, really hold the football still this time, offering an agreement to not filibuster as much. TPM has the story, Dueling Filibuster Proposals Leave Reformers Scrambling,
The McCain-Levin proposal, unveiled Friday after bipartisan negotiations, would make it easier for the majority leader to bypass motions to proceed and guarantee the minority two amendments on legislation regardless of relevancy, Steven S. Smith, an expert on Congress at Washington University in St. Louis, told TPM. It would also remove obstacles on motions to go to conference and approve minor presidential nominations.Levin told reporters in the Capitol that the plan "will hopefully overcome the gridlock that has so permeated the U.S. Senate." He added: "It is a bipartisan proposal."
Will Senate Democrats once again whiff on doing something about Republican obstruction? Will they fall for yet another "agreement" that will be negated a few minutes after Democrats think an agreement with Republicans has fixed the problem? Will Charlie Brown fall for it again?
Fix the Senate Now, a coalition of over 50 national organizations, explains why Democrats should hold to the reform plan that "makes them talk" in, "Thanks, But No Thanks" - Reid & Senate Democrats Should Reject Weak Senate Rules Offering,
A handful of Senators today unveiled a U.S. Senate rules proposal that falls well short of the meaningful change needed to overcome the unprecedented Senate obstruction of recent years. Instead of a serious reform effort, today's offering is little more than a status quo, business as usual, recipe for continued Senate gridlock.
They should make them talk. This is a pro-democracy move. First, it stops the obstruction. Second, it allows senators with serious and honest problems with a bill to bring this to the attention of the public by holding a real, honest-to-goodness talkathon. Third, this would engage the public and give We, the People a chance to weigh in and agree or disagree with the objection.
What You Can Do
Contact your senators and let them know how you feel about making them talk. This is so important.
Visit Fix The Senate Now's website, and sign their petition. Follow them on Twitter and on Facebook.
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This post originally appeared at Campaign for America's Future (CAF) at their Blog for OurFuture. I am a Fellow with CAF.
Sign up here for the CAF daily summary
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Follow Dave Johnson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/dcjohnson
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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-johnson/no-more-lucy-filibuster-f_b_2382040.html
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U.S. Senate leaders aim to craft "fiscal cliff" bill by Sunday
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate leaders are working to craft legislation by Sunday that averts the year-end "fiscal cliff" of tax hikes and spending cuts, but many details needed to be worked out after a crucial meeting with President Barack Obama on Friday.
U.S. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid and his Republican counterpart Mitch McConnell, termed the meeting "constructive" and "positive" and said they would keep working on trying to find a solution over the weekend.
After adjourning on Friday, Reid he would probably not call the Senate back into session until about 1 p.m. EST/ 1800 GMT on Sunday to give leaders time to hash out a deal.
"We are engaged in discussions, the majority leader and myself and the White House, in the hopes that we can come forward as early as Sunday and have a recommendation that I can make to my conference and the majority leader can make to his conference," McConnell said on the Senate floor.
"So we'll be working hard to try to see if we can get there in the next 24 hours. So I'm hopeful and optimistic," he added.
An aide to House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said it was agreed at the White House meeting that the Senate should act first.
"The speaker told the president that if the Senate amends the House-passed legislation and sends back a plan, the House will consider it - either by accepting or amending," the aide said.
However, Reid said it would be difficult to craft a solution that can win passage in both the House and Senate, adding that it involves "big numbers."
"Whatever we come up with is going to be imperfect," Reid said. "Some people aren't going to like it. Some people will like it less. But that's where we are and I feel confident that we have an obligation to do the best we can."
(Reporting By David Lawder, Rachelle Younglai; editing by Christopher Wilson)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/senate-leaders-aim-craft-fiscal-cliff-bill-sunday-225027077--business.html
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Those Spicy Snapchat Vids Don't Self-Destruct
So you thought those photos and videos you sent using Snapchat or Poke -- you know, the embarrassing ones -- were supposed to self-destruct after being viewed by the intended recipient? Not so fast. It turns out that there's a way to save them that doesn't require a lot of skill or expense.
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New Arizona law encourages more joint parenting - | News for Yuma ...
Web Producer: Lucy Valencia, Assignment Desk Editor, KSWT News 13
PHOENIX, Ariz. (AP) ? An Arizona law that goes into effect Tuesday encourages divorced parents to do more joint parenting.
The law requires courts to adopt plans that increase as much as possible both parents' time with a child and forbids judges from giving one parent preference based on the parent's or child's gender.
The Arizona Republic reports that, under the new law, judges now must fine any parent who lies to the court or tries to delay court proceedings. Such fines were previously optional.
Physical custody will now be called parenting time and legal custody will now be called legal decision-making authority.?
Parents with decision-making authority have power over decisions of a child's health and education and over personal-care matters such as haircuts and ear piercing.
Source: http://www.kswt.com/story/20434548/new-arizona-law-encourages-more-joint-parenting
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2012 Social Business and Customer Service Trends | Moxie ...
We get contemplative at the end of every year. Did we do everything we set out to do? Did we meet our goals? What were the best movies we?ve seen or books we?ve read?
Maybe our year-in-review helps us predict what?s coming in the new year, or at least think about how we?ll approach things differently.
Social business and customer service have certainly seen lots of moving and shaking in 2012. Here are some of the trends that may be foreshadowing the year to come.
Social business grows up: quantifying social
Remember back in 2009 when ?social? was the new business buzzword? The world knew this was a revolution and everyone wanted to be a part of it. The only problem was that people didn?t quite know how to fit it into their budgets, how to track investments ? how to measure it.
This year marks major improvements toward wrapping numbers around social business. McKinsey?s study of the social economy exploded last summer, with predictions that the industry will add $1.3 TRILLION in annual revenue.
After years of trial and error, companies are learning where money is being wasted in social media and are modifying their course.
Stop blocking social media at work! Studies are proving the benefits of social, such as how collaboration tools are boosting productivity.
It?s safe to say that social business has grown up and, most likely, will continue to mature as technology laggards catch up.
Mobile explodes, putting new pressures on business
With the variety of mobile devices (both smartphones and tablets) now available, the ubiquity of data access, and increasing reliance on information anywhere, mobile sales are exploding with no end in sight.
That means more online business, sales, and customer service is being tapped, adding extra pressure to operations internally and externally.
Businesses are scrambling to tap the benefits of mobile, but not without encountering challenges. IT professionals are learning the role of mobile within the enterprise ? no overnight task.? When it comes to customer experience, move it or lose it: 73% of mobile users feel companies don?t deserve their loyalty if their needs aren?t being met. Ouch.
When it comes to the future of mobile, it?s looking more and more interactive.
Customer service gets way more social
If a customer complains about a product or service and the business isn?t around to hear it? everyone else will be. Studies show that nearly half of all social media users (and that?s a lot) look to social media for customer service. This year has been all about gearing up on the strategies, tactics, and tools to give better customer experiences through social.
Analysts are predicting that internal collaboration tools will be essential to keeping up with customers in 2013. Many businesses are adopting social customer experience management software.
What?s more, we?re seeing more traditional CRM giants acquiring or integrating agile social capabilities from third parties into their software. Perhaps this is the beginning of making all business more social in 2013 and beyond!
What trends have you seen in 2012? What do you think 2013 has in store for social business?
Tags: enterprise social software, social businessSource: http://blog.moxiesoft.com/2012-social-business-trends/
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Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Extension Agent: Simple tips for a healthier new year
Try one or all of these easy tips in the coming year - every small change is a step in the right direction.
Switch to fat-free or low-fat dairy foods. They have the same essential nutrients as whole milk with less fat and calories. Drink a cup of low-fat milk with meals and be aware that cream cheese and butter are not part of the dairy food group.
Enjoy your food but eat less. Use 9-inch diameter plates at home to control portion sizes or share an entree when dining out. Take your time at meals, paying attention to textures, flavors and your feelings of fullness.
Make half your plate fruits and vegetables. They are low in fat and calories and full of healthy vitamins, minerals and fiber. Buy fresh fruits and vegetables in season for best quality or keep dried, frozen or canned fruits and vegetables on hand so that you always have plenty no matter the season. Have fruit for dessert and raw vegetables for snacks.
Cut back on foods high in solid fats and added sugars, like cake, cookies, ice cream and candy. These foods should be occasional treats savored in smaller portion sizes.
Take in more whole grains. As part of a healthy diet, whole grains can help reduce the risk of some chronic diseases. Exchange refined grain products for whole grain products like brown rice or whole grain pasta. When baking, substitute whole grain flour for up to half of the flour called for in your recipes. Check ingredient lists for the words "whole" or "whole grain" before the grain ingredient name.
Select lower sodium foods. Sodium raises blood pressure and 75 percent of the sodium Americans consume comes from processed foods (canned, packaged, frozen foods, etc.). Compare nutrition facts labels and choose products that are lower in sodium or cook fresh foods at home and opt for a no-salt seasoning mix for more flavor.
Swap your soda for a healthier beverage. Soda and other sweet drinks contain a lot of sugar that add to calorie intake. Drink water or low-fat milk instead or cut down by selecting smaller cans or cup sizes rather than super-sized options.
When it comes to protein foods, purchase leaner cuts of meat, remove skin from poultry, adjust to smaller portions and remember that beans, peas, nuts and seeds are also protein foods. Eat seafood in place of meat or poultry twice a week and grill or bake meats for less fat.
Keep in mind that your children learn from you, so become a good role model. Set the example for your children by serving a variety of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products and lean protein foods every day. Encourage children to try new foods and to create fun snacks for the whole family. Instead of sitting on the sidelines, get physically active by joining in when your children are playing.
A good way to start on your way to becoming more physically active is to join us at Victoria Mall on Jan. 12 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the Walk Across Texas kickoff event. For more information, visit walkacrosstexas.tamu.edu or call the Victoria County Extension office at 361-575-4581.
Source: 10 Tips Nutrition Education Series at ChooseMyPlate.gov
Brenda Phipps is a Victoria County extension assistant.
Source: http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2012/dec/25/fr_brenda_phipps_122612_197279/
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Column: Seattle isn't just sleepless, it's loud!
That dull roar still rumbling between your ears a day later is not your imagination.
It's the echo from the 49ers-Seahawks game Sunday night, when an already notoriously loud hometown crowd outdid itself. How?
Start with CenturyLink Field, a U-shaped stadium with cantilevered roofs extending over most of the 67,000 seats in the grandstands, a configuration designed to bounce back sound. Then throw in some fans presumably hopped up on espresso and, thanks to a later starting time, some more who stopped at Safeco Field on the way over to quaff 24-oz. beers offered through a promotion at a mere $4.50 each.
Next, mix in their dislike for a nasty NFC West rival and especially coach Jim Harbaugh, who smacked the Washington Huskies every chance he got when he was at Stanford and has been tormenting Seahawks coach Pete Carroll ever since.
Finally, throw in that early, unexpected lead and ? voila! ? a near-perfect sound storm.
Just know it could have been worse.
"Obviously, they were jacked up last night," said Fred Gaudelli, the innovative producer of "Sunday Night Football" on NBC. "But in my mind, it's one of the underrated sports towns in America. Actually, the special challenge there is always to convey how loud it actually is.
"We knew that going in, plus we knew the 49ers were the team their fans hate the most. So at Wednesday's regular 'brainstorming session,' we turn to our head audio engineer and said, 'How do we make viewers understand you can't hear the person next to you most of the time, even if he's yelling?' We wanted to be ready."
Gaudelli knows what can happen to a team that ventures into Seattle without preparing for the wall of noise.
In 2005, the visiting New York Giants collected 11 false-start penalties in a single game, the start of a five-year span when opponents piled up league-leading totals, averaging twice as many there as the Seahawks. The Carolina Panthers once practiced for a game there by dragging loudspeakers down to the practice field and simulating the sound of a jet engine. If that sounds over the top, it is, by about 18 decibels. Jets are routinely measured at around 130, Century Link's best is only 112.
Gaudelli and his crew hatched a plan to demonstrate that by having sideline reporter Michele Tafoya speak into a microphone as the sound reverberated, then take a step back and try again. When they ran through it before the game, he had a stadium staffer simulate the crowd noise over the PA system. At the point Tafoya's words were drowned out the system was cranked to 50 percent of volume.
"So I asked the guy, is it really going to be that loud? He looked at me," Gaudelli chuckled into the phone, "and said, 'Double it.'"
The guy was right. That much was apparent at the start of the broadcast, when Tafoya interviewed Carroll ? remember, the game hadn't even begun ? and didn't dare stand anywhere but uncomfortably close.
Uncomfortable might be the right word to describe the 49ers as well, at least in the early going, when they had to burn timeouts as relatively inexperienced quarterback Colin Kaepernick was having trouble getting the play calls from his sideline. Right about then, he probably wished the 49ers had devoted more time to mastering their silent snap counts.
"The crowd's explosive, it really is," Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson said. "They love us so much, and it brings so much energy to our football team. They keep us in the game, obviously, and they keep us alert."
Experts have been arguing over the worth of home-field advantage for decades. Most concluded that in those places where it's statistically significant, it's usually because of a number of factors and not just one, such as noise. Since CenturyLink opened up in 2002, Seattle is 58-29 at home, a 67 percent winning clip that ranks the Seahawks sixth in the NFL over that span. That's a far cry from New England's league-best 72-15 record (83 percent).
But the Seahawks haven't had Tom Brady at quarterback, and their road record is dismal enough (33-55) that the boost the fans at CenturyLink have provided might be best measured by their last four playoff appearances. If that's not exact enough, try this: After a 2001 earthquake shook a viaduct that runs along the water and near the stadium, the University of Washington set up a lab to track future "seismic events." One of them actually occurred during Marshawn Lynch's thundering, winning, 67-yard touchdown run in a memorable upset of the then-defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints on Jan. 9, 2011.
Yet while we know how Seattle fans make so much noise, why remains the subject of much speculation. Gaudelli, like a lot of people, blames coffee. But I'm going with a theory advanced Sunday night by announcer Al Michaels, who suggested the locals roar non-stop because showcase games gives them a rare chance to remind the rest of the country they're there.
"For media people on the East Coast," he said half in jest, "Seattle might as well be Bulgaria."
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Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke(at)ap.org and follow him at Twitter.com/JimLitke.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/column-seattle-isnt-just-sleepless-loud-231910992--nfl.html
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Police investigate NBC News anchor for displaying gun clip on air
(Reuters) - NBC News anchor David Gregory is being investigated by police after displaying what he said was a high-capacity gun clip on Sunday's broadcast of "Meet the Press," a spokeswoman for Washington's Metropolitan Police Department said Wednesday.
Gregory held up what appeared to be a 30-round gun magazine - barred under Washington municipal code - while hosting the nationally broadcast interview with National Rifle Association Chief Executive Officer Wayne LaPierre.
"Here is a magazine for ammunition that carries 30 bullets," Gregory said as he held aloft the black cartridge, according to video posted on the network's website.
"Now isn't it possible that, if we got rid of these, if we replaced them and said ?Well, you could only have a magazine that carries five bullets or ten bullets,' isn't it just possible that we can reduce the carnage in a situation like Newtown?" Gregory asked LaPierre.
"I don't think it's what will work,'' LaPierre responded.
The incident is "being investigated as a violation of D.C. code," said Washington Metropolitan Police Department spokeswoman Tisha Gant. She declined to elaborate.
Washington's municipal code prohibits possession, sale or transfer of "any large capacity ammunition feeding device, regardless of whether the device is attached to a firearm."
The maximum penalty for conviction on such a charge is a $1,000 fine and one year in prison.
NBC spokeswoman Erika Masonhall, contacted by email, said the network had no comment on the investigation.
After the broadcast, which originated in Washington, a number of bloggers and websites questioned Gregory's actions and the legality of the gun clip.
A petition posted on the White House website calling for a charge to be brought against Gregory contained more than 7,000 e-signatures as of Wednesday morning.
(Reporting by Chris Francescani and Paul Eckert; Editing by Paul Thomasch, Andrew Hay and Gunna Dickson)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/police-investigate-nbc-news-anchor-displaying-gun-clip-174625680.html
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Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Shih to Represent Columbia at Patriot All-America Golf Tournament
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Source: http://www.gocolumbialions.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=9600&ATCLID=205838284
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New Mexico is in the dog house when it comes to animal abuse. One study ranks ou...
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Source: http://www.facebook.com/KOAT7/posts/429673310421179
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T.I., Chief Keef Ready To Bring Trouble To 'RapFix Live'!
Tip and Chief Keef will both sit down with Sway on 'RapFix Live' on Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET on RapFix.MTV.com.
By Rob Markman
Chief Keef
Photo: Getty Images
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1699033/ti-chief-keef-rapfix-live-announce.jhtml
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Tuesday, December 18, 2012
KAIST announced a major breakthrough in indoor positioning research
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If you are looking for this week's current news releases, click on "Breaking News" once you reach the main EurekAlert! homepage. If you are a reporter looking for the embargoed news section, go to the main EurekAlert! homepage, log in with your username and password and then, from the main reporter homepage, click on "Embargoed News." If you are a PIO looking to submit a release, go to the main EurekAlert! homepage, log in with your username and password and then, from the main PIO homepage, click "Submit a Release."
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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-12/tkai-kaa121712.php
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Dot Earth Blog: Scientists See Promise for People and Nature as 'Peak Farmland' Looms
Jesse H. Ausubel of Rockefeller University has long been one of my core ?go to? analysts of global resource issues and trends.
Now he?s alerted me to a new study and related lecture on what he and his co-authors are calling ?peak farmland? ? an impending stabilization of the amount of land required for food as humanity?s growth spurt plays out. While laying out several important wild cards (expanded farming of biofuels among them), Ausubel and his co-authors see a reasonable prospect for conserving, and restoring, forests and other stressed terrestrial ecosystems even as humanity exerts an ever greater influence on the planet.
The study, ?Peak Farmland and the Prospects for Sparing Nature,? is by Ausubel, Iddo K. Wernick and Paul E. Waggoner and will be published next year as part of a special supplement to the journal Population and Development Review, published by the Population Council.
Drawing on a host of data sets, the authors conclude that a combination of slowing population growth, moderated demand for land-intensive food (meat, for instance) and more efficient farming methods have resulted in a substantial ?decoupling? of acreage and human appetites.
Here?s the optimistic opener:
Expecting that more and richer people will demand more from the land, cultivating wider fields, logging more forests, and pressing nature, comes naturally. The past half-century of disciplined and dematerializing demand and more intense and efficient land use encourage a rational hope that humanity?s pressure will not overwhelm nature.
Ausubel will describe the findings in a talk during a daylong symposium at his university on Tuesday honoring Paul Demeny, who at age 80 is stepping down as editor of the journal.
Ausubel?s prepared remarks are online. In his talk, he explains that while the common perception is that meeting humanity?s food needs is the task of farmers, there are many other players, including those of us who can choose what to eat and how many children to have:
[T]he main actors are parents changing population, workers changing affluence,?consumers changing the diet (more or less calories, more or less meat) and also the portion of?crops entering the food supply (corn can fuel people or cars), and farmers changing the crop?production per hectare of cropland (yield).
The new paper builds on a long string of studies by Ausubel and the others, including the 2001 paper ?How Much Will Feeding More and Wealthier People Encroach on Forests?.? Also relevant is ?Restoring the Forests,? a 2000 article in Foreign Affairs co-written by Ausubel and David G. Victor (now at the University of California, San Diego)
This body of analysis is closely related to the core focus of this blog: finding ways to fit infinite human aspirations (and appetites) on a finite planet. The work presents a compelling case for concentrating agriculture through whatever hybrid mix of means ? technological or traditional ? that best fits particular situations, but also fostering moderation in consumption.
Here?s an excerpt from the paper?s conclusion, which notes the many wild cards that make the peak farmland scenario still only a plausible, and hardly inevitable, future:
[W]ild cards remain part of the game, both for and against land sparing. As discussed, the wild card of biofuels confounded expectations for the past 15 years. Most wild cards probably will continue to come from consumers. Will people choose to eat much more meat? If so, will it be beef, which requires more land than poultry and fish, which require less? Will people become vegetarian or even vegan? But if they become vegan, will they also choose clothing made from linen, hemp, and cotton, which require hectares? Will the average human continue to grow taller and thus require more calories? Will norms of beauty accept obesity and thus high average calories per capita? Will a global population with a median age of 40 eat less than one with a median age of 28? Will radical innovations in food production move humanity closer to landless agriculture (Ausubel 2010)? Will hunger or international investment encourage cropland expansion in Africa and South America? (Cropland may, of course, shrink in some countries while expanding in others as the global sum declines.) And will time moderate the disparities cloaked within global averages, in particular disparities of hunger and excess among regions and individuals?
Allowing for wild cards, we believe that projecting conservative values for population, affluence, consumers, and technology shows humanity peaking in the use of farmland. Over the next 50 years, the prospect is that humanity is likely to release at least 146 mHa [146 million hectares, or 563,710 square miles], one and a half times the size of Egypt, two and a half times that of France, or ten Iowas, and possibly multiples of this amount.
Notwithstanding the biofuels case, the trends of the past 15 years largely resemble those for the past 50 and 150. We see no evidence of exhaustion of the factors that allow the peaking of cropland and the subsequent restoration of nature.
In an e-mail exchange today, I asked Ausubel about another issue touched on in the paper:
Looking around the planet, it?s clear from a biodiversity standpoint that all forests ? or farming pressures ? are not equal. For instance, in Southeast Asia, palm oil and orangutans are having a particularly hard time co-existing. So while the overall trend is great, do you see the need for maintaining a focus on particular ?hot spots,? to use a term familiar in environmental circles?
So far, I don?t see lots of evidence that conservation campaigners (you are one on ocean resources) have found a way to accept this kind of good news and/or incorporate it in their prescriptions for sustaining a rich and variegated biological sheath on Earth. If you agree, any idea why?
His answer:
Indonesia is the number one place where letting the underlying trend work will not work fast enough. The list of threatened regions is quite well identified: parts of the central African forest, parts of the Amazon.
Some conservation groups have realized that the slow growth in demand for calories as well as pulp and paper are creating big chances to reserve or protect more land. In the right places, where crops are no longer profitable, some amounts of money can acquire large amounts of land for nature.
Conservation groups also ought to attend more to the ecological disaster called biofuels.
I encourage you to dig in on this paper and related work, which provides a useful guide for softening the human impact on a crowding planet. There?ll be plenty of losses, and surprises, but there are real prospects for sustaining a thriving, and peopled, orb.
6:57 p.m. | Addendum | For relevant work with somewhat different conclusions review the presentations from ?Intensifying agriculture within planetary boundaries,? a session at the Planet Under Pressure conference in London last March. I?ll be adding links to other relevant analysis here.
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GM boosts pickup truck deals to shed inventory
Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks are seen on a dealer's lot in Troy, Mich., Monday, Dec. 17, 2012. General Motors is offering generous deals to clear a growing inventory of Chevy and GMC pickup trucks. It?s matching or beating deals offered by Ford and Chrysler. That, plus low interest rates, sweet lease deals and abundant financing, is good news for truck buyers. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks are seen on a dealer's lot in Troy, Mich., Monday, Dec. 17, 2012. General Motors is offering generous deals to clear a growing inventory of Chevy and GMC pickup trucks. It?s matching or beating deals offered by Ford and Chrysler. That, plus low interest rates, sweet lease deals and abundant financing, is good news for truck buyers. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
DETROIT (AP) ? With Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks piling up on dealer lots, General Motors is offering generous deals to thin the stock.
It's matching or beating discounts from rivals Ford and Chrysler, offering up to $9,000 off remaining 2012 models and close to $4,500 off 2013s. That, plus low interest rates, sweet lease deals and abundant financing, is good news for people in the market for a truck.
"They're all very competitive with each other right now," said Russell Barnett, who owns dealerships around Winchester, Tenn., southeast of Nashville, that sell GM pickups as well as the Ford F-Series and Chrysler's Ram. "The manufacturers are putting a big emphasis on it, and there's a lot of people in the market."
Last month, the Ram led the way with an average of $4,800 in discounts, followed by GMC and Ford at $3,700, according to industry statistics from J.D. Power and Associates. GM dropped incentives on the Silverado to just under $3,700. Dealers say GM has boosted its offers in December, while the others have either held steady or raised incentives on certain models. Barnett said the incentives run from $4,500 to around $5,000, although the discounts vary with model year and options on the trucks.
That means there's good deals on Ford's F-Series pickup, the top-selling vehicle in America, as well as the Silverado, which ranks second. Together, the Detroit Three control 83 percent of the U.S. full-size pickup truck market.
The three automakers have been vying for truck business all year as the market continues a slow rebound from the Great Recession. Chrysler led the way on incentives most months, sometimes exceeding $5,000. GM also topped $5,000 earlier in the year. But in November, the company cut discounts on the Silverado and Sierra by about $400, falling almost $1,200 below the Ram and $100 below Ford. The cut came just as the pickup truck rebound accelerated, costing GM sales and forcing it to respond this month.
As a result, Silverado sales fell 10 percent last month, while sales of the Sierra, its near-twin, dropped more than 3 percent. At the same time, Ford truck sales rose 18 percent and Ram leaped 23 percent. So Silverados and Sierras began stacking up on dealer lots.
At the end of November, Chevy dealers had more than 169,000 Silverados nationwide, enough to supply them for 138 days at the current sales rate, according to Ward's AutoInfoBank. By contrast, Ford had a 90-day supply of F-150s, and Chrysler had 106 days' worth of Rams. Automakers consider a 60-day supply to be optimal to give buyers enough selection, although they run a little higher on pickups because there are so many different versions.
GM executives said in November that they were following a strategy to keep incentives down so people buy cars and trucks on their merits, not because they're cheap. But GM's trucks, which haven't been redone since 2007, are at a disadvantage to newer trucks from Chrysler and Ford. The Ram was new in 2008 and updated earlier this year, and the F-Series, new in 2009, got four new engines last year. So GM was forced to offer bigger discounts this month.
"We went harder because we missed on November," Mark Reuss, GM's North American president, said last week as he unveiled new trucks that will hit showrooms late next spring. "The incentive loads are competitive, so we're off to a good start," said Reuss, who wouldn't reveal by how much GM had reduced its truck inventory.
GM plans to temporarily close its truck plants in the coming months to help deal with inventory problems and to switch over to new models. It also added at least a week of down time at car factories in Lordstown, Ohio, and Kansas City, Kansas, for maintenance and to control supplies. The Ohio plant makes the Chevy Cruze compact, while the Kansas factory makes the Chevy Malibu midsize car.
Through the year, the Ram has led the way in deals most months, followed by the GM trucks, according to J.D. Power. Ford has been below the other two most of the year.
The Ram has led the way because Chrysler traditionally has offered big discounts and buyers expect them, said Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting for LMC Automotive, a Detroit-area firm that tracks auto sales trends. GM has been in the middle, and Ford has been able to keep discounts down due to the popularity of its turbocharged six-cylinder "Ecoboost" engine that can tow loads yet still gets decent gas mileage, Schuster said. Although most pickups sold in the past have had more powerful eight-cylinder engines, half of Ford's sales this year have been equipped with V-6s.
At Serra Chevrolet in Southfield, Mich., north of Detroit, truck sales have been strong all year, but December is shaping up to be a great month because of the incentives, said Greg Brown, general manager. "I'm selling every one I get," he said. "I think the incentives are phenomenal on them. It's driving traffic in here."
And GM promises to remain competitive with discounts for the foreseeable future, said Don Johnson, head of Chevrolet sales. "We want to make sure we get our unfair or fair share," he said. But he added that the company won't go into "liquidation mode" to sell trucks.
Schuster said GM made too many trucks for the market and then decided to cut discounts at a bad time.
He said it's a great time to buy, but the deals may not last long, especially as GM gets closer to selling its revamped trucks. The housing industry is coming back, and that always increases truck sales. And the average age of pickup trucks on the roads approaching 11 years, so companies and individual buyers are replacing them, Schuster said. That means there will be demand that could cut into supply and increase prices, he said.
"You have everyone trying to finish the year strongly," he said. "As we then look into next year, we're likely to see higher prices, certainly on the new trucks."
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Sunday, December 16, 2012
Agents visit Conn. gun shops after school massacre
NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) ? While white-steepled churches and President Barack Obama prepared to comfort a grieving town Sunday, federal agents planned to fan out to dozens of gun stores and shooting ranges across Connecticut, chasing leads they hoped would cast light on the life of school shooter Adam Lanza.
Among the questions: Why did his mother, a well-to-do suburban divorcee, keep a cache of high-power weapons in the house? What experience did Lanza have with those guns? And, above all, what set him on a path to shoot and kill 20 children, along with the adults who tried to stop him?
Lanza shot his mother, Nancy Lanza, to death at the home they shared Friday, then drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School in her car with at least three of her guns, forced his way in by breaking a window and opened fire, authorities said. Within minutes, he killed the children, six adults and himself.
All the victims at the school were shot with a rifle, at least some of them up close, and all were apparently shot more than once, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. H. Wayne Carver said. There were as many as 11 shots on the bodies he examined.
All six adults killed at the school were women. Of the 20 children, eight were boys and 12 were girls.
Asked whether the children suffered, Carver said, "If so, not for very long." Asked how many bullets were fired, Carver said, "I'm lucky if I can tell you how many I found."
Parents identified the children through photos to spare them some shock, Carver said.
The terrible details about the last moments of young innocents emerged as authorities released their names and ages ? the youngest 6 and 7, the oldest 56. They included Ana Marquez-Greene, a little girl who had just moved to Newtown from Canada; Victoria Soto, a 27-year-old teacher who apparently died while trying to hide her pupils; and principal Dawn Hochsprung, who authorities said lunged at the gunman in an attempt to overtake him.
The tragedy has plunged Newtown into mourning and added the picturesque New England community of 27,000 people to the grim map of towns where mass shootings in recent years have periodically reignited the national debate over gun control but led to little change.
Residents and faith leaders were sure to reflect Sunday on the mass shooting and what meaning, if any, to find in it. Obama planned to attend an interfaith vigil ? the fourth time he will have traveled to a city after a mass shooting.
On Saturday, overflow crowds packed St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church. The Rev. Richard Scinto, a deacon, gave a homily.
"In the past 48 hours I've said the phrase 'I don't know' about 1,000 times," he said. "That not knowing has got to be the worst part of this whole thing."
At St. John's Episcopal Church, 54-year-old Donna Denner, an art teacher at an elementary school in nearby Danbury whose classroom was locked down after the shooting, said she feels the same way she did after 9/11 but isn't sure the rest of the country does.
"I don't know if the rest of the country is struggling to understand it the same way we are here," she said. "Life goes on, but you're not the same. Is the rest of the country ? are they going about their regular activities? Is it just another news story to them?"
The gunman's father, Peter Lanza, issued a statement Saturday relating his own family's anguish in the aftermath.
"Our family is grieving along with all those who have been affected by this enormous tragedy. No words can truly express how heartbroken we are," he said. "We are in a state of disbelief and trying to find whatever answers we can. We too are asking why. ... Like so many of you, we are saddened, but struggling to make sense of what has transpired."
The rifle used was a Bushmaster .223-caliber, according to an official with knowledge of the investigation who was not authorized to speak about it and talked on condition of anonymity. The gun is commonly seen at competitions and was the type used in the 2002 sniper killings in the Washington, D.C., area. Also found in the school were two handguns, a Glock 10 mm and a Sig Sauer 9 mm.
A law enforcement official said Saturday that authorities were investigating fresh leads that could reveal more about the lead-up to the shooting. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Ginger Colbrun, spokeswoman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said earlier there was no evidence Lanza was involved in gun clubs or had trained for the shooting. When reached later in the day and asked whether that was still true, she said, "We're following any and all leads related to this individual and firearms."
Dean Price, director of the Wooster Mountain State Range ? a shooting range in Danbury ? said two ATF agents visited the range Friday night and stayed into the early morning looking through thousands of names on sign-in logs.
He said that he had never seen Adam or Nancy Lanza there and that agents told him they did not find their names on the sign-in sheets.
Law enforcement officials have said they have found no note or manifesto from Lanza of the sort they have come to expect after murderous rampages such as the Virginia Tech bloodbath in 2007 that left 33 people dead.
Education officials said they had found no link between Lanza's mother and the school, contrary to news reports that said she was a teacher there. Investigators said they believe Adam Lanza attended Sandy Hook many years ago, but they had no explanation for why he went there Friday.
Authorities said Adam Lanza had no criminal history, and it was not clear whether he had a job. Lanza was believed to have suffered from a personality disorder, said a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Another law enforcement official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said Lanza had been diagnosed with Asperger's, a mild form of autism often characterized by social awkwardness.
People with the disorder are often highly intelligent. While they can become frustrated more easily, there is no evidence of a link between Asperger's and violent behavior, experts say.
The law enforcement officials insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the unfolding investigation.
Richard Novia, the school district's head of security until 2008, who also served as adviser for the school technology club, of which Lanza was a member, said he clearly "had some disabilities."
"If that boy would've burned himself, he would not have known it or felt it physically," Novia said in a phone interview. "It was my job to pay close attention to that."
Amid the confusion and sorrow, stories of heroism emerged, including an account of Hochsprung, 47, and the school psychologist, Mary Sherlach, 56, rushing toward Lanza in an attempt to stop him. Both died.
There was also 27-year-old teacher Victoria Soto, whose name has been invoked as a portrait of selflessness. Investigators told relatives she was killed while shielding her first-graders from danger. She reportedly hid some students in a bathroom or closet, ensuring they were safe, a cousin, Jim Wiltsie, told ABC News.
"She put those children first. That's all she ever talked about," a friend, Andrea Crowell, told The Associated Press. "She wanted to do her best for them, to teach them something new every day."
There was also 6-year-old Emilie Parker, whose grieving father, Robbie, talked to reporters not long after police released the names of the victims but expressed no animosity, offering sympathy for Lanza's family.
"I can't imagine how hard this experience must be for you," he said.
___
Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Jim Fitzgerald, Bridget Murphy, Pat Eaton-Robb and Michael Melia in Newtown; Denise Lavoie in Danbury, Conn.; Adam Geller in Southbury, Conn.; Stephen Singer in Hartford, Conn.; and Pete Yost in Washington.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/agents-visit-conn-gun-shops-school-massacre-080443085.html
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Google Gets Ten Times As Many Takedown Requests As It Did Six Months Ago
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Egyptians vote on Islamist-backed constitution
CAIRO (AP) ? Egyptians are voting on a proposed constitution that has polarized their nation, with President Mohammed Morsi and his Islamist supporters backing the charter, while liberals, moderate Muslims and Christians oppose it.
More than 26 million voters are scheduled to cast their ballots Saturday, while another 25 million will vote next week.
Critics have raised concern over the charter's legitimacy after most judges said they would not supervise the vote. Rights groups warn of opportunities for widespread fraud, and the opposition says a decision to hold the vote on two separate days to make up for the shortage of judges leaves the door open for initial results to sway voter opinion.
The opposition has called on its supporters to vote "no."
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egyptians-vote-islamist-backed-constitution-061522606.html
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Gunman's mom owned weapons in school massacre
Investigators believe the gunman shot his mother at home, where he lived with her, and are researching the suspected gunman's writings, looking for any clues as to what might have precipitated one of the worst mass shootings in history. NBC's Pete Williams reports.
By Pete Williams and Kari Huus, NBC News
The weapons used in Friday?s shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., were legally purchased and registered to Nancy Lanza, the mother of the gunman, Adam Lanza, two law enforcement officials told NBC News. ?
The gunman was clad in black and used two 9mm pistols to kill 20 small children and six adults at the school.?It was unclear how many shots were fired there.?
Two 9mm handguns, one made by Glock and the other by Sig Sauer, were recovered inside the school. An AR-15-type rifle also was found at the scene, but there were conflicting reports Friday night whether it had been used in the shooting.
In total, 28 people died in Friday's rampage, including the gunman, who was found at the scene, and a woman believed to be Nancy Lanza, found shot dead at a home in Newtown. She was a teacher.
Under Connecticut law, people under 21 are prohibited from purchasing or carrying handguns. Adam Lanza was 20.
The nonprofit Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence ranks gun control laws in Connecticut and neighboring states New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts as the most stringent in the nation, after California.
Government officials
Undated photo confirmed by government officials to be Adam Lanza, who apparently killed himself after killing more than two dozen others, including 20 school children.
Connecticut allows possession of assault rifles, except those with certain features, such as a fixed bayonet type lug, or a collapsible stock, according to attorney David Clough of Southbury, Conn.
Otherwise they are allowed, and like other rifles, easier to acquire than handguns.
Under Connecticut law, anyone 21 or older can purchase ammunition, Clough said.
The Associated Press, citing an unnamed official, reported that state police records show that Nancy Lanza had legally purchased five firearms, all registered in Connecticut, though the reported was not independently confirmed by NBC News.?The AP later reported that authorities also recovered three other guns???a Henry repeating rifle, an Enfield rifle and a shotgun. It was not clear where those weapons were found.
Follow Kari Huus on Facebook
There have been several mass shootings in 2012 alone, and on Friday President Obama said politicians will need to come together to take action regardless of the politics. NBC's Tom Costello reports.
Related content from NBCNews.com:
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Saturday, December 15, 2012
NY Pols Express Horror, Send Prayers In Wake Of Newtown ...
With rolling updates: The reactions to the horrific slaying of children by a masked gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. are already streaming in, many saying the murders highlight the need for stronger gun control laws. The death toll of 27, including 20 kids, ranks the crime as one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history.
Gov. Cuomo: "I was shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School this morning in Newtown, Connecticut. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the innocent victims ? many of whom were young children ? whose lives were claimed by this senseless and horrific act of violence. During times of such unthinkable tragedy, all New Yorkers stand together with the people of our neighboring state to grieve the loss of life and help bear the pain and anguish that will be felt by so many in the weeks, months, and years to come.
"While we don?t have all the facts and our focus must be on the victims, this is yet another senseless and horrific act of violence involving guns. We as a society must unify and once and for all crack down on the guns that have cost the lives of far too many innocent Americans. Let this terrible tragedy finally be the wake-up call for aggressive action and I pledge my full support in that effort."
Mayor Bloomberg, co-chair, Mayors Against Illegal Guns: ?With all the carnage from gun violence in our country, it?s still almost impossible to believe that a mass shooting in a kindergarten class could happen. It has come to that. Not even kindergarteners learning their A,B,Cs are safe. We heard after Columbine that it was too soon to talk about gun laws. We heard it after Virginia Tech. After Tucson and Aurora and Oak Creek. And now we are hearing it again. For every day we wait, 34 more people are murdered with guns. Today, many of them were five-year olds. President Obama rightly sent his heartfelt condolences to the families in Newtown. But the country needs him to send a bill to Congress to fix this problem.
"Calling for ?meaningful action? is not enough. We need immediate action. We have heard all the rhetoric before. What we have not seen is leadership ? not from the White House and not from Congress. That must end today. This is a national tragedy and it demands a national response. My deepest sympathies are with the families of all those affected, and my determination to stop this madness is stronger than ever.?
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano: ?I am deeply saddened by the horrific shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone impacted by this senseless tragedy, especially the families and loved ones of those killed or injured. As federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies continue to respond to this tragic event, the Department of Homeland Security will provide any support necessary in the ongoing investigation.?
NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman: ?Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the innocent victims of today?s horrific massacre. We stand with the people of Connecticut during this moment of unspeakable tragedy.?
NYS Comptroller Tom DiNapoli: ?In the face of yet another tragedy of gun violence, I join all New Yorkers in extending my heartfelt condolences to the Connecticut families, friends and community of those affected by today?s senseless murders.? This unthinkable act occurred in a place where our children should feel safe.? As a nation, we must work together to prevent such horrendous acts.?
Sen. Chuck Schumer: ?The horror of what happened is beyond words and leaves a permanent lump in your throat.? To senselessly lose so many innocent lives breaks your heart. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all who lost a loved one today, to all who are injured, and to those that survived. The people of New York will help in any way we can as our fellow citizens struggle to comprehend today?s events.? Perhaps an awful tragedy like this will bring us together so we can do what it takes to prevent this horror from being repeated again.?
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: ?I am in shock and disbelief at this horrible tragedy that took so many innocent lives today. As a father and grandfather, it is beyond my comprehension why anyone would want to hurt innocent children. I join the millions of Americans whose thoughts and hearts are with those suffering because of this horrible crime in Connecticut.?
House Speaker John Boehner: ?The horror of this day seems so unbearable, but we will lock arms and unite as citizens, for that is how Americans rise above unspeakable evil. Let us all come together in God?s grace to pray for the families of the victims, that they may find some comfort and peace amid such suffering. Let us give thanks for all those who helped get people to safety, and take heart from their example. The House of Representatives ? like every American ? stands ready to assist the people of Newtown, Connecticut.?
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell: ?We are all crushed by the news of today's horrifying massacre in Newtown. I invite everyone to lift their hearts in prayer for the victims and their families and to unite around the hope that there will soon come a day when parents no longer fear this kind of violence in our nation again.?
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi: ?No words can console the parents of the children murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School or describe the pain and shock of such an unspeakable tragedy.? No words can comfort the loved ones of those brutally taken from us today.? All Americans share our prayers and our grief over these horrifying events. We are all stunned, shocked, and distraught by this tragic shooting, by this violent act, and by the loss of so many young children.? Our hearts go out to the families and friends of the students, teachers, and educators killed and wounded in Newtown, Connecticut.? The entire nation will continue to stand as a source of support to this community in the days and weeks to come.?
Arizona Rep. Ron Barber, wounded with former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in the Tucson shooting: "Today?s tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. is a devastating loss for the families, the people of that community and for all Americans. It is especially painful because it took place in classrooms where children should feel safe as they grow and learn. As those of us in Tucson know, senseless acts such as these tear at the very fabric of a community. In times like this, we come together to support each other. To the people of Newtown, we are with you today and in the days, weeks and months ahead. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of those who were killed or injured today as well as to the first responders, law enforcement personnel and medical teams who are treating the victims. All of Tucson and Southern Arizona as well as the entire nation stand with the people of Newtown."
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, whose husband was killed and son wounded in the 1993 LIRR shooting spree: ?Our hearts go out to the victims and families from this horrific tragedy, especially during the holidays when kids should be thinking about presents and having fun with their families and friends, not America?s deadly problem with gun violence. There are a lot of unanswered questions right now, but one thing is clear ? there?s too much gun violence in our country.? These shootings are becoming all too common, and it?s too easy for dangerous people to get the weapons that help them perform mass executions like today?s.
?Leaders in Washington from both parties, and groups like the NRA, all say that now is not the time to talk about how gun safety laws can save lives in America.? I agree, now is not the time to talk about gun laws ? the time for that conversation was long before all those kids in Connecticut died today. We owe it to our children to work harder to reduce gun violence. ?
"The Second Amendment is the law of the land but it was never intended to allow murderers to take the lives of innocent kids.? It?s our moral obligation as policymakers and as parents to do more to save lives. I hope the President?s words about taking ?meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this regardless of the politics? stay true as we continue down this road again.?
Rep. Jerry Nadler: ?I am absolutely horrified by news of the cold-blooded shooting of dozens of children in Newtown, Conn. Yet another unstable person has gotten access to firearms and committed an unspeakable crime against innocent children. We cannot simply accept this as a routine product of modern American life. If now is not the time to have a serious discussion about gun control and the epidemic of gun violence plaguing our society, I don?t know when is. How many more Columbines and Newtowns must we live through? I am challenging President Obama, the Congress, and the American public to act on our outrage and, finally, do something about this.?
Rep. Eliot Engel: ?As a father of three, I am horrified by the violence committed against these innocent children and their teachers in Connecticut.? As a human being, I am appalled that someone could commit such an insane act and actually pull that trigger ending those young lives. The grief I feel for the families of the victims is too great for words. We have had too many moments like this ? 31 school massacres in our country since Columbine. Today, our nation mourns.? In the coming days and weeks, we must come to grips with the horrors of the growing gun violence we are witnessing with all too much frequency.? This country must keep guns out of the hands of deranged murderers, and the fact that we cannot pass sensible gun control in this Congress is a blot on our reputation.? As I have said many times in the past, we must pass sensible gun control.? We owe it to the memories of the children and teachers murdered today.?
Rep. Brian Higgins: ?Today?s tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, taking the lives of nurturing adults and innocent children, is heartbreaking. As a father and as a husband of a public school teacher, I have to say that the word that comes most to mind at a time like this is ?unspeakable.? This is a tragedy of unspeakable proportion, an act beyond comprehension. When lives are lost in our schools, which represent a safe haven with the sole purpose of enriching the lives of children, we are left with a profound sadness. I join others in this country and the Western New York community in saying that our thoughts and prayers are with the families and community devastated by the horrific events that occurred today.?
Rep. Charles Rangel: ?I join America to mourn for the innocent lives that were tragically taken away in this devastating shooting. We send our prayers for the parents and families of the victims as we share our grief over their loss. I stand with the nation in showing full support to the Newtown community as they cope with the shock and pain. I strongly condemn this heinous crime that killed and wounded so many young beautiful children, as well as teachers and educators. Such abominable act has no place in our country. We cannot tolerate and allow a handful of people to terrorize our communities.?
Rep. Nita Lowey: ?Today?s horrific act of violence in Newtown, Connecticut is senseless and heartbreaking. There are no words to express the profound grief we all feel at the loss of so many, especially young children.? My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their friends and family and the entire Newtown community. We cannot tolerate mass shootings as a mere inconvenience or a normal part of our everyday lives. Easy availability of the deadliest weapons to the most dangerous people has cost countless lives and caused immeasurable suffering, never more so than today. Our expressions of sympathy must be matched with concrete actions to stop gun violence.?
Rep. Steve Israel: ?I am stunned and outraged by the mass murder in Connecticut today. We keep viewing these tragedies as teachable moments on stopping gun violence, and then we forget the lessons until the next tragedy. Over the next days and weeks, we must come together on common-sense steps to keep guns out of schools. Today, as Long Islanders and Americans, we stand with the families of Newtown.??
Rep. Carolyn Maloney: ?The students and their families and the teachers and employees at Sandy Hook Elementary School are in my thoughts and prayers today. Like all Americans, my heart is heavy with grief for the members of this community who have been devastated by this horrible, senseless act of violence. Our first thoughts must be with the families of those killed and injured today. But we can no longer allow tragedies ? like Columbine, and Virginia Tech, and Tucson, and Aurora, and Newtown ? to occur over and over without finally taking meaningful action to prevent them from happening again.? Together as Americans, we must engage each other in a civil discourse about ways to deter would-be mass killers who are currently able to legally purchase guns and ammunition more easily than they could register an automobile. We must engage in this effort, however politically painful. Otherwise, sadly, we will continue to see more of these unspeakable tragedies.?
Rep. Gregory Meeks: ?I was shocked by the news of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, which left 26 people dead.?? As a father I cannot imagine the pain the families of the innocent victims must feel.? I grieve with them.? My thoughts and prayers, and those of my constituents, are with the students, teachers and families whose lives have been forever altered by this senseless shooting.? A shocked and sorrowful nation shares your grief.? My colleagues and I must act to stop access to the guns that are used in such horrific crimes, but that struggle is for another day. Today we simply join the rest of the world in mourning the tragic loss of lives.?
Rep.-elect Grace Meng: ?The shooting in Connecticut is a horrible and senseless attack that has shocked and saddened me and all Americans. My deepest condolences and sympathies go out to the victims, parents and families of this unspeakable tragedy that occurred just about 65 miles from our community. As the mother of two young children, I cannot begin to imagine what they are going through. There are simply no words to express the horror of this terrible and incomprehensible tragedy. This senseless shooting is yet another example of why our nation needs tougher gun control laws ? the assault weapons ban, microstamping and background checks for all gun purchases. Congress must act as these are very long overdue. At this difficult time, we send our thoughts and prayers to all who have been affected by this horrific tragedy.??
Rep.-elect Hakeem Jeffries: "Our heartfelt sorrow goes out to the parents and family members whose children and relatives have confronted evil and wickedness in its purest form. No words can provide comfort to these grieving parents, but we must do all we can to support them in this time of extreme need. We should also pray for strength in the midst of a storm that will not soon pass for the victims, family members and community. Lastly, we should hold our children closer as we lay them to bed, and when day breaks begin to seriously confront what needs to happen to prevent tragedies like this massacre from ever occurring again."
Sen. Frank Lautenberg: "Americans are sick and tired of these attacks on our children and neighbors and they are sick and tired of nothing being done in Washington to stop the bloodshed. If we do not take action to address gun violence, shooting tragedies like this will continue. As President Obama said, we must act now 'regardless of the politics.'?
Public Advocate Bill de Blasio: ?No parent in this country will ever forget the painful images of children being carried out of Sandy Hook Elementary School. This is a terrible day, and it must become a call to action to protect all communities big and small from senseless violence. Our prayers are with our neighbors in Connecticut as they face this appalling loss of life.?
Comptroller John Liu: ?Our thoughts and prayers are with the innocent children, teachers and families of Newtown. As I await my child's dismissal from school, I can only imagine with horror the pain being felt throughout the community in the face of such senseless violence and devastating loss.?
Senate GOP Majority Leader Dean Skelos: "There simply aren?t words that can express the sadness and shock of the senseless tragedy that took place this morning in Newtown, Connecticut. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims of this heinous attack that has brought such heartbreak and grief to people in Connecticut and across the country."
NY Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver: "My thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the horrific shooting in Newtown... Our schools should be a safe and nurturing environment for our children and parents should never have to fear for their safety when they are learning. If ever there is a time to finally have a serious discussion about our country?s culture of violence that time is now.
NY Senate Democratic Leader John Sampson: ?Our hearts go out to the children, parents, and community of Newtown, Conn. As a father, this is one of my worst fears and we must all work together to make sure these terrible events never happen again. Enough is enough.?
Senate IDC Leader Jeff Klein: "My thoughts and prayers are with the children, families, and victims of today?s devastating tragedy in Connecticut. Today?s news is a sorrowful reminder that horrifying acts of gun violence are all too common in our streets, our homes, and our schools. Heinous acts such as this must remain at the front of our minds as we continue to reevaluate the place of guns in our state and our society."
State Sen. Jose Peralta: ?My heart goes out to the victims. I extend my condolences to the loved ones of all those senselessly gunned down. I can?t think of a more sickening tragedy than the cold-blooded mass murder of children and the adults caring for them. The bloodstain of gun violence will only grow larger until we resolve, at every level of government, to bring common sense and sanity to our laws governing firearms availability, sales and possession.?
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Council Task Force to Combat Gun Violence Co-Chairs Jumaane Williams and Fernando Cabrera: "We are horrified by the carnage at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Words cannot express the damage done to this community and our nation as a whole. Our hearts go out to the families of Newtown, Connecticut on this terrible day. This tragedy is an urgent reminder that we must strengthen the call for serious gun control reform. From Columbine to Oak Creek, from Aurora to Newtown, our country cannot and must not live in fear of weapons designed to kill. We pray that elected leaders, regardless of background, can put a stop to this madness and help save lives."
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer: "Today?s shooting at a Newtown, Conn. elementary school is a tragedy of national proportions. Once again, a gunman has slaughtered innocent people in a public place ? and the shocking toll, 26 dead, includes 18 young children. Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of these victims."
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.: ?I am extremely shocked and saddened by today?s shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. Our nation is in mourning and I, along with the 1.4 million residents in the Bronx, will keep Sandy Hook Elementary School and the entire state of Connecticut in our thoughts and prayers, through this difficult time as our hearts go out to the families and friends of those who were killed and wounded."
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz: ?All of Brooklyn joins the nation and the world in mourning the loss of so many innocents at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, and we pray for the full recovery of those wounded. Over the coming hours, days and weeks, more information will be revealed about the shootings, the deranged individual who committed them, and the weapons he used. Unfortunately, it always takes a senseless tragedy like this?and too many others like it?for Americans to stand up and take notice of our nation?s ongoing love affair with guns, and the critical need for national gun control. Yet it seems as if no tragedy is horrific enough to get federal lawmakers to put aside their philosophical differences, say enough is enough, and do what?s right to safeguard the safety and welfare of the American people. The time for idle talk is over. If not now?after the deaths of children as young as five in a suburban elementary school?then when? We need strong leaders in Congress to stand up to the gun lobby. We need lawmakers with the courage of conviction and the strength to follow through. We need determined voices in this fight to take back our streets and our schools. We cannot be held hostage?literally or figuratively?by gun-wielding madmen or the lobbyists that keep them armed."
Former NYC Comptroller Bill Thompson: ?I am shocked and deeply saddened by the loss of life today at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. This senseless attack on innocent children is yet another reminder that there is no legitimate reason for anyone other than law enforcement or military personnel to have access to semi-automatic weapons. My thoughts and prayers are with the families affected by today?s tragedy.?
Assemblywoman Michelle Schimel: ?I am appalled once again. Little children gunned down in the safest of places, their elementary school classroom. In a world gone seemingly mad, I have always had to defend my stance in government for stricter gun laws and regulations. I urge people to call the White House and their State Houses- and scream out- our children, our children... Elected officials must put public safety before the interests of the strongest gun lobby ever."
Assemblyman-elect Walter Mosley: "Today's shooting [is] an absolutely heartbreaking national tragedy, and there are no words to describe our grief. My deepest prayers and condolences go to the families of these victims."
Westchester County Board of Legislators Chairman Ken Jenkins: ?The senseless and utterly horrifying death of twenty-seven people today, including eighteen children, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut must?I repeat, must?be the final wake-up call for government officials and elected leaders at every level to work toward making sure another tragic shooting and killing of innocents like this never occurs again. It?s time to enact the strictest national gun laws in the world. We owe it to all of the victims. My prayers and heart-heavy condolences go out to the families of all those killed and traumatized by today?s shooting. If we are going to be serious about making the world a better, safer place in which to live, then we must immediately look to eliminating gun violence. The public across our land and future generations are depending on us to make the right decisions.?
NYSUT President Richard Iannuzzi: ?Today?s tragedy in Newtown, Conn., reminds us all of the urgency for states to pass and enforce policies ? like New York has done ? that improve school safety and protect the lives of students and the educators who work with them. And this includes a serious tightening of gun control laws across the nation.?
Rev. Al Sharpton: "Our prayers are with those devastated by this horrific shooting and we appeal for people to unite in prayer to end the bloodshed across the country. I hope that our nation's leaders from all backgrounds and walks of life, can come together in the weeks ahead to forge a path where these terrible, senseless gun violent tragedies are eliminated from our society."
Texas Gov. and former presidential candidate Rick Perry: "The horrific event that transpired at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut is as profoundly disturbing as it is impossible to fully understand. The fact that so many victims were children weighs heavily upon the hearts and souls of each Texan and every American. Anita and I send our personal condolences to everyone touched by this senseless tragedy, pray for the quick healing of those injured, and extend our hopes that time will help ease the suffering of those who lost loved ones."
Former Sen. and presidential candidate Rick Santorum: "If there were ever a day to hug your child a little longer, a little closer, today is the day.? It is with a heavy heart that Karen and I extend our thoughts and prayers to the victims and family members of those affected by the senseless tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary.? May God bless the students, teachers, and emergency responders who are suffering unthinkable pain delivered at a place meant to be a sanctuary of safety and learning.? The loss of life and innocence is devastating, and I pray for healing for the entire Newtown community and our country."
And an excerpt from our main-page story on the massacre, written by Victoria Cavaliere and Larry McShane, which is being updated as new details emerge...
Twenty-seven people were killed, including 18 children, when a masked gunman unleashed a bloody Friday morning rampage through a Connecticut elementary school.
The mass murderer was a 20-year-old man who used a .223-caliber rifle. He was among the dead at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. ? a small suburban town of about 27,000 people.
The gunfire erupted around 9:40 a.m. inside the main office, sending terrified parents flocking to the school for word about their kids.
President Obama was briefed on the mass killing in Fairfield County, according to the White House.
Terrified children described hearing the gunshots as their teachers quickly hustled them to safety.
Video captured a long line of ambulances and law enforcement vehicles parked outside the school.
At least three people were treated at Danbury Hospital, including a teacher who was shot in the foot, police sources said. A witness spotted two wounded children ? one had a bloody face, the other with a hand injury, WTNH-TV reported.
Two guns were found near the shooter, who died at the scene, according to law enforcement officials.
Witnesses said the shooter was wearing a mask but his or her identity was still unknown.
A "platoon" of state troopers were combing the scene, said Lt. Paul Vance. of the state police. The FBI is also assisting...
Images: SHANNON HICKS/THE NEWTON BEE; JESSICA HILL/AP; NEWTOWN PATCH; CHARLES DHARAPAK/AP; RICHARD HARBUS/NY DAILY NEWS; MICHELLE MCLOUGHLIN/REUTERS
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