President Obama, so often cool and unemotional, struggled to maintain his composure Friday as he addressed a nation reeling from a mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school.
“The majority of those who died today were children — beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old,” Obama said partway into a four-minute statement.
LOS ANGELES: Police in California are looking for a man who reportedly walked into a California mosque saying he had a gun and threatened to kill everyone, a spokeswoman said Friday.
The man entered the Ibrahim Khalilullah Islamic Center in Fremont, south of San Francisco, during afternoon prayer Wednesday, said mosque leaders, urging official action to track down the man.
According to witnesses, a "white male in his thirties entered the IKI Center Mosque during prayer, and shouted that he had a gun and wanted to kill everyone. When confronted, the male left," said a police spokeswoman.
"We are a little worried because of the situation that happened in Oregon," said Fareed Wardak, a member of the center's board of directors, referring to a shooting in the western US state that left three dead on Tuesday.
"We don't want the same thing to happen," he told KTVU television, in comments made before Friday's shooting at an elementary school in the eastern state of Connecticut that killed 20 children and six adults.
The man left without taking out a gun. Fremont Police Department spokeswoman Geneva Bosques told AFP: "He never displayed a gun, kept his hands in his pockets. We are following up in an attempt to look at video surveillance."
The man possibly drove a 1990s gray Toyota Camry, and officers will be carrying out extra patrols looking for anything suspicious, KTVU reported.
"We do have surveillance cameras. We'll be getting pictures out of that system," said Wardak, adding: "We're not sure what kind of person" the man was.
"It's Christmas, people are going back and forth," said Mohammed Zarabi, president of the board of directors. "Maybe he needs some money. I can't say what his intention was. I just hope it doesn't happen again."
The center has some 500 members, mostly of Afghan descent, and has been in the city for two decades.
This week's shootings in Oregon and Connecticut have revived the perennial debate about gun control in the United States, a country that regularly has to cope with such apparently random killings.
Friday's massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut was the second deadliest US school shooting, after the 2007 campus shootings at Virginia Tech University, which left 32 dead.
- AFP/ck
CHANDIGARH: Around four months after banning all mining activities, the Punjab and Haryana high court on Friday allowed auction of 25 quarries in various districts of Punjab.
While permitting the state to initiate the process of auctioning the mining quarries under a close and strict monitoring mechanism, the court of Justice Rajive Bhalla observed that the system of issuing manual slips for lifting minerals from the quarries was being misused.
The court also issued directions to instal weighing machines at the quarries to keep a tab on each vehicle's weight to prevent contractors from extracting material in addition to the prescribed limit by over-digging and thereby harming the ecology.
In August this year, the HC had imposed complete and immediate ban on mining in the state without environmental clearance in operational quarries of up to five hectares in the state.
The court also directed that environment impact assessment committee would grant permission in each case so that there was no ecological degradation. The HC has also told the trial courts to avoid releasing vehicles and equipment used for illegal mining.
The division bench also made it clear that the HC's endeavour was only to ensure the undertaking of mining after obtaining requisite permission and following the rules, which was not being done.
Justice Bhalla was miffed over the recent statements made by the state governments that rates of building material have reached all time high because of stay on mining by the Punjab and Haryana high court.
Photograph by Mike Theiss, National Geographic
The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, illuminates the Arctic sky in a recent picture by National Geographic photographer Mike Theiss.
A storm chaser by trade, Theiss is in the Arctic Circle on an expedition to photograph auroras, which result from collisions between charged particles released from the sun's atmosphere and gaseous particles in Earth's atmosphere.
After one particularly amazing show, he wrote on YouTube, "The lights were dancing, rolling, and twisting, and at times looked like they were close enough to touch!" (Watch his time-lapse video of the northern lights.)
Published December 14, 2012
Adam Lanza of Newtown, Connecticut was a child of the suburbs and a child of divorce who at age 20 still lived with his mother.
This morning he appears to have started his day by shooting his mother Nancy in the face, and then driving to nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School armed with at least two handguns and at least one semi-automatic rifle.
There, before turning his gun on himself, he shot and killed 20 children, who President Obama later described as between five and 10 years of age. Six adults were also killed at the school. Nancy Lanza was found dead in her home.
A relative told ABC News that Adam was "obviously not well."
Family friends in Newtown also described the young man as troubled and described Nancy as rigid. "[Adam] was not connected with the other kids," said Barbara Frey, who also said he was "a little bit different ... Kind of repressed."
State and federal authorities believe his mother may have once worked at the elementary school where Adam went on his deadly rampage, although she was not a teacher, according to relatives, perhaps a volunteer.
Nancy and her husband Peter, Adam's father, divorced in 2009. When they first filed for divorce in 2008, a judge ordered that they participate in a "parenting education program."
Peter Lanza, who drove to northern New Jersey to talk to police and the FBI, is a vice president at GE Capital and had been a partner at global accounting giant Ernst & Young.
Adam's older brother Ryan Lanza, 24, has worked at Ernst & Young for four years, apparently following in his father's footsteps and carving out a solid niche in the tax practice. He too was interviewed by the FBI. Neither he nor his father is under any suspicion.
"[Ryan] is a tax guy and he is clean as a whistle," a source familiar with his work said.
Police had initially identified Ryan as the killer. Ryan sent out a series of Facebook posts saying it wasn't him and that he was at work all day. Video records as well as card swipes at Ernst & Young verified his statement that he had been at the office.
Investigators are looking into whether Adam Lanza was carrying his older brother Ryan's identification at the time of the shooting, which may have caused the confusion. Neither Adam nor Ryan has any known criminal history.
Numerous relatives of the Lanzas in New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, as well as multiple friends, are being interviewed by the FBI in an effort to put together a better picture of the gunman and any explanation for today's tragedy.
"I think the most important thing to point out with this kind of individual is that he did not snap this morning and decide to act out violently," said former FBI profiler Mary Ellen O'Toole. "These acts involve planning and thoughtfulness and strategizing in order to put the plan together so what may appear to be snap behavior is not that at all."
With reporting by Pierre Thomas, Jim Avila, Santina Leuci, Aaron Katersky, Matthew Mosk, Jason Ryan and Jay Shaylor
MORE: 27 Dead, Mostly Children, at Connecticut Elementary School Shooting
LIVE UPDATES: Newton, Conn. School Shooting
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Here it is, ladies and gentlemen — your Rep. Loretta Sanchez Christmas card for 2012!
(Courtesy of the Office of Rep. Loretta Sanchez)
Over the past decade, the California Democrat’s wacky holiday greetings have drawn a cult following. “I’ve seen them being sold on eBay,” the congresswoman told us.
(Courtesy of the Office of Rep. Loretta Sanchez)
Nice topical theme this year! “The ‘fiscal cliff’ is a very serious situation, so we didn’t want to make light of it,” she said. “But sometimes a chuckle makes things a lot easier.” (Last year’s card tipped a hat to Occupy Wall Street and all that 99 percent talk: “May the joy of the holidays occupy 100 percent of your heart.”)
That’s husband Jack Einwechter dancing with her. Sanchez’s late beloved cat Gretzky, the star of so many cards over the years, is represented inside the card, a halo over his furry head. “Of course — Angel Gretzky,” she said. “We keep Gretzky every year because he has so many followers.”
Earlier:
Rep. Loretta Sanchez’s ‘Call Me Maybe’ parody, with summer interns, 7/2/12
Last year:
Rep. Loretta Sanchez carries on holiday card tradition, without beloved cat Gretzky, 12/9/11
Loretta Sanchez’s 2011 Christmas card, 12/16/11
Also in The Reliable Source:
Jenna Bush Hager announces pregnancy on ‘Today’
Hey, isn’t that. . .?: Steve Harvey; Max Baucus and Tim Geithner
Quoted: Marco Rubio on his hair loss
D.C. power players appear in new video portrait — but is it art?
Elizabeth Kucinich becomes a real-estate agent; will keep public-affairs job, too
Albert Small buys George Washington letter for $290,000 — but don’t tell his wife
SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said employment growth stayed high despite a rise in layoffs in the third quarter of this year.
In a statement, MOM noted that job openings rose in the quarter, resulting in a rise in job vacancies to job seekers ratio.
Meanwhile, the increase in layoffs remained substantially below recessionary highs.
Total employment grew by 26,200 in the third quarter of 2012, moderating from the growth of 31,900 in the same period last year, and 31,700 in the second quarter of 2012.
In the first nine months of 2012, total employment grew by 85,100 -- just slightly more than the increase of 85,000 in the same period last year.
The Ministry said unemployment rates have remained low, reflecting high manpower demand amid the tightening in foreign manpower controls.
- CNA/xq
Anna and Gen Singh announced the schedule of their proposed one and a half year long campaign to create awareness among youth while addressing an impressive gathering of students at Bharat Mata Mandir premises here on Wednesday. On finding an enthused crowd, Hazare announced that the campaign will begin on the day the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi attained martyrdom. "The campaign will be aimed at creating awareness among youngsters for their active participation in nation-building. We will be travelling across the country to hold meetings with youths in this regard. Around four to five such meetings will also be held in the districts of UP," he said.
A huge gathering of students and student leaders from various universities and colleges of eastern UP districts was present at this meeting. Before addressing the crowd, Anna along with Singh offered prayers at Bharat Mata Mandir. Hinting that the campaign will be held in view of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, he said that until the youth of the country realize the importance of their vote, the wrong people would continue reaching the parliament. One must have the right to reject wrong people contesting the election, said Anna, encouraging youngsters to be ready for a massive agitation during which they may face brutality and also go behind the bars.
He said that it was easier to fight for freedom against British rule than it is to fight with our own corrupt people, but the task is not impossible. He said that in last 65 years, the country has witnessed immense increment in cases of loot, cheat and corruption. Expressing concern over the existing education system, he said that the poor are still deprived of their right to education and rich people are busy in trading of education for commercial gains.
Reacting over FDI in retail, Anna said that inviting foreign companies and snatching land from farmers, selling rivers, forests and natural resources can't be termed development. Development can't be ensured at the cost of nation, nature and countrymen, he said. It is really unfortunate to see that a majority of the people are struggling for three square meals while some people are living to eat, he added. Anna also appealed to the gathering to stay in touch with the campaign by sending SMS on 9923599234.
Meanwhile, Gen Singh emphasised on generating employment opportunities for youngsters. He said that over 200 districts of the country are Naxal-affected due to lack of employment and development in their areas. He said around 71 percent of India's population is young, but this is not reflected in the Parliament. "We are being divided on the basis of caste, creed and religion. Common man's participation has completely vanished from our democracy. Youngsters should come forward to remove those people who have been exploiting the country for 65 years. Like Army personnel, everyone should consider their country as the first priority, he said, and called upon youngsters to join their campaign which will be launched from Patna.
After addressing this meeting, the two left for Sarva Sewa Sangh, Rajghat to take part in a meeting with activists of India Against Corruption (IAC).
If the world's entire population went in for a collective checkup, would the doctor's prognosis be good or bad? Both, according to new studies published in The Lancet medical journal.
The vast collaborative effort, called the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2010, includes papers by nearly 500 authors in 50 countries. Spanning four decades of data, it represents the most comprehensive analysis ever undertaken of health problems around the world.
It reveals that, globally, we're living longer but coping with more illness as adults. In 1990, "childhood underweight"—a condition associated with malnutrition, measles, malaria, and other infectious diseases—was the world's biggest health problem. Now the top causes of global disease are adult ailments: high blood pressure (associated with 9.4 million deaths in 2010), tobacco smoking (6.2 million), and alcohol use (4.9 million).
First, the good news:
We're living longer. Average life expectancy has risen globally since 1970 and has increased in all but eight of the world's countries within the past decade.
Both men and women are gaining years. From 1970 to 2010, the average lifespan rose from 56.4 years to 67.5 years for men, and from 61.2 years to 73.3 years for women.
Efforts to combat childhood diseases and malnutrition have been very successful. Deaths in children under five years old declined almost 60 percent in the past four decades.
Developing countries have made huge strides in public health. In the Maldives, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Iran, and Peru, life expectancy has increased by more than 20 years since 1970. Within the past two decades, gains of 12 to 15 years have occurred in Angola, Ethiopia, Niger, and Rwanda, an indication of successful strategies for curbing HIV, malaria, and nutritional deficiencies.
We're beating many communicable diseases. Thanks to improvements in sanitation and vaccination, the death rate for diarrheal diseases, lower respiratory infections, meningitis, and other common infectious diseases has dropped by 42 percent since 1990.
And the bad:
Non-infectious diseases are on the rise, accounting for two of every three deaths globally in 2010. Heart disease and stroke are the primary culprits.
Young adults aren't doing as well as others. Deaths in the 15 to 49 age bracket have increased globally in the past 20 years. The reasons vary by region, but diabetes, smoking, alcohol, HIV/AIDS, and malaria all play a role.
The HIV/AIDS epidemic is taking a toll in sub-Saharan Africa. Life expectancy has declined overall by one to seven years in Zimbabwe and Lesotho, and young adult deaths have surged by more than 500 percent since 1970 in South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
We drink too much. Alcohol overconsumption is a growing problem in the developed world, especially in Eastern Europe, where it accounts for almost a quarter of the total disease burden. Worldwide, it has become the top risk factor for people ages 15 to 49.
We eat too much, and not the right things. Deaths attributable to obesity are on the rise, with 3.4 million in 2010 compared to 2 million in 1990. Similarly, deaths attributable to dietary risk factors and physical inactivity have increased by 50 percent (4 million) in the past 20 years. Overall, we're consuming too much sodium, trans fat, processed meat, and sugar-sweetened beverages, and not enough fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, fiber, calcium, and omega-3 fatty acids.
Smoking is a lingering problem. Tobacco smoking, including second-hand smoke, is still the top risk factor for disease in North America and Western Europe, just as it was in 1990. Globally, it's risen in rank from the third to second leading cause of disease.
To find out more and see related charts and graphics, see the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which led the collaboration.
All of the Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare," doesn't go into effect until 2014, but states are required to set up their own health care exchanges or leave it to the federal government to step in by next year. The deadline for the governors' decisions is Friday.
The health insurance exchanges are one of the key stipulations of the new health care law. They will offer consumers an Internet-based marketplace for purchasing private health insurance plans.
But the president's signature health care plan has become so fraught with politics that whether governors agreed to set up the exchanges has fallen mostly along party lines.
Such partisanship is largely symbolic because if a state opts not to set up the exchange, the Department of Health and Human Services will do it for them as part of the federal program. That would not likely be well-received by Republican governors, either, but the law forces each state's chief executive to make a decision one way or the other.
Here's what it looks like in all 50 states and the District of Columbia:
20 states that have opted out -- N.J., S.C., La., Wis., Ohio, Maine, Ala., Alaska, Ariz., Ga., Pa., Kan., Neb., N.H., N.D., Okla., S.D., Tenn., Texas and Wyo.
Charles Dharapak/AP Photo
Several Republican governors have said they will not set up the exchanges, including Chris Christie (N.J.), Nikki Haley (S.C.), Bobby Jindal (La.), Scott Walker (Wis.), John Kasich (Ohio), Paul LePage (Maine), Robert Bentley (Ala.), Sean Parnell (Ark.), Jan Brewer (Ariz.), Nathan Deal (Ga.), Tom Corbett (Pa.), Sam Brownback (Kan.), Dave Heineman (Neb.), John Lynch (N.H.), Jack Dalrymple (N.D.), Mary Fallin (Okla.), Dennis Daugaard (S.D.), Bill Haslam (Tenn.), Rick Perry (Texas), and Matt Mead (Wyo.).
3 States Out, but a Little More Complicated -- Mont., Ind. and Mo.
The Montana outgoing and incoming governors are both Democrats, but the Republican state legislature rejected the Democratic state auditor's request to start setting up a state exchange. So a federal exchange will be set up in Montana as well.
The Indiana outgoing and incoming governors are both Republicans and outgoing Gov. Mitch Daniels deferred the decision to governor-elect and U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, who said his preference is not to set up a state health care exchange, paving the way for the feds to come in too.
In Missouri, Gov. Jay Nixon is a Democrat, but Prop E passed on Nov. 6, which barred his administration from creating a state-based exchange without a public vote or the approval of the state legislature. After the election, he sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services saying he would be unable to set up a state-based exchange, meaning the federal government would have to set up its own.
1 State Waiting for the White House -- Utah
Utah already has a state exchange set up, a Web-based tool where small-business employees can shop and compare health insurance with contributions from their employee. In a letter Republican Gov. Gary Herbert sent to the White House Tuesday, he asked for its exchange, called Avenue H, to be approved as a state-based exchange under the Affordable Care Act as long as state officials can open it to individuals and larger businesses.
Norm Thurston, the state's health reform implementation coordinator, says authorities there "haven't received an official response" from the White House, but "we anticipate getting one soon."
There are some sticking points that don't comply with the exchanges envisioned by the Affordable Care Act and Utah would like to keep it that way.
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