Morgan Stanley fined over Facebook IPO






WASHINGTON: Morgan Stanley agreed Monday to pay a $5 million fine to settle charges that it improperly handled crucial information on Facebook's earnings ahead of the company's disastrous IPO.

The securities regulator of the state of Massachusetts had charged that Morgan Stanley, the lead underwriter for the $16 billion stock issue in May, coached Facebook on how to present lowered earnings estimates to company analysts.

At the same time, those estimate revisions, made just days before the initial public offering closed, were not shared with all investors as Morgan Stanley set a high issue price and increased the number of shares on sale.

Facebook shares collapsed after the first day of trade on May 18, eventually falling to half the $38 IPO price, as institutional investors dumped the shares worried about lowered earnings potential.

The share price fall angered many institutional and retail investors who said they had been misinformed about the company's earnings forecasts.

The Massachusetts state secretary William Galvin said Morgan Stanley had violated securities industry rules against unethical and dishonest conduct.

Morgan Stanley agreed to the civil penalty without either admitting or denying the charges.

- AFP/fa



Read More..

Shinde nails Pak lie on Hafiz Saeed's arrest in 26/11 case

NEW DELHI: Pakistan's claim that it had "arrested" 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed in connection with the Mumbai terror attacks has turned to be incorrect as the Lashkar-e-Taiba chief was picked up for unrelated cases and Islamabad hoodwinked India by concealing these facts.

Indian officials belatedly realized that they were taken for a ride when they examined documents given to them on Saeed by the delegation led by Pakistani interior minister Rehman Malik that was recently in India.

"We had been given to understand by the interior minister of Pakistan that Mr Hafiz Saeed had been arrested on the charges of being a part of the conspiracy for the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks," home minister Sushilkumar Shinde told Parliament on Monday.

"From the papers given to us, it is clear that the detentions of Shri Hafiz Saeed in the aforesaid cases were for other reasons and not for his role as a conspirator in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. Therefore, I can only say that Rehman Malik appears to have been misinformed in the matter," Shinde added.

The home minister, incidentally, referred to Saeed in Parliament using honorifics like 'Mr' and 'Shri' that prompted BJP leaders to object to the courtesies being shown to a terror accused.

The documents -- including FIRs against Saeed and Pakistani court orders exonerating him -- show the Lashkar chief was arrested once in 2002 and twice in 2009. Even the two FIRs against him registered post-26/11 do not mention anything in connection with the Mumbai terror attacks.

The two FIRs were registered in Faisalabad when the UN Security Council passed a resolution banning the Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa after categorizing it as a terror organization. The cases were dismissed by the Lahore High Court because the Punjab (Pakistan) assembly did not ratify the UN resolution. The court went by the Punjab assembly's stand.

The documents, shared for the first time with India, also show that the court took note of local media reports saying LeT did not exist in 2002 as evidence in dismissing the case against Saeed. The Pakistan government did not take a stand on any of the three cases and did not appeal the orders. The first time, Saeed was taken into preventive custody while there was no follow-up action on his second arrest. In the third arrest, he was let off by court which found faults in the FIR.

The portion nailing Pakistan's lie over Saeed was originally not part of Shinde's statement which was prepared on Sunday night. Rajya Sabha MPs got the additional page only after the home minister read it. Usually, papers comprising a written statement are distributed to MPs while the minister is either reading it or is about to read.

Officials in the home ministry said the Pakistani delegation handed over documents on Saeed to them only before it headed for Delhi airport for its return journey on Sunday evening. After examining the papers on Monday morning, officials realized how they had been misled by Islamabad.

The fudge is not surprising as Saeed is feted by Pakistan's military establishment and the government is not inclined to act against him.

Shinde also said, "During my talks with him (Malik), he stated that if we desire, he will give us the FIRs and the judgments pertaining to the three occasions when Hafiz Saeed was arrested and let off by the courts. When we pursued this matter, they have given us papers pertaining to the detentions of Saeed in 2002 and 2009."

Officials believe misrepresenting facts on earlier occasions might have been done by Pakistan deliberately as it does not want to appear to be taking action against Saeed who is a key figure in the country's ISI-LeT nexus for waging proxy war against India.

They said Malik gave "lame excuses" for not acting against Saeed and the Indian side believes the LeT boss will continue to roam free in Pakistan and indulge in anti-India rhetoric. The visiting delegation had also contended that there was a court ruling on a petition by Saeed's wife Memoona who had submitted that he had left LeT in 2001.

"Pakistan's intention is clear. They do not want to take action against Saeed. This is the impression that we got during talks," an official said.

Read More..

Experts: No link between Asperger's, violence


NEW YORK (AP) — While an official has said that the 20-year-old gunman in the Connecticut school shooting had Asperger's syndrome, experts say there is no connection between the disorder and violence.


Asperger's is a mild form of autism often characterized by social awkwardness.


"There really is no clear association between Asperger's and violent behavior," said psychologist Elizabeth Laugeson, an assistant clinical professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.


Little is known about Adam Lanza, identified by police as the shooter in the Friday massacre at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school. He fatally shot his mother before going to the school and killing 20 young children, six adults and himself, authorities said.


A law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the unfolding investigation, said Lanza had been diagnosed with Asperger's.


High school classmates and others have described him as bright but painfully shy, anxious and a loner. Those kinds of symptoms are consistent with Asperger's, said psychologist Eric Butter of Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, who treats autism, including Asperger's, but has no knowledge of Lanza's case.


Research suggests people with autism do have a higher rate of aggressive behavior — outbursts, shoving or pushing or angry shouting — than the general population, he said.


"But we are not talking about the kind of planned and intentional type of violence we have seen at Newtown," he said in an email.


"These types of tragedies have occurred at the hands of individuals with many different types of personalities and psychological profiles," he added.


Autism is a developmental disorder that can range from mild to severe. Asperger's generally is thought of as a mild form. Both autism and Asperger's can be characterized by poor social skills, repetitive behavior or interests and problems communicating. Unlike classic autism, Asperger's does not typically involve delays in mental development or speech.


Experts say those with autism and related disorders are sometimes diagnosed with other mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder.


"I think it's far more likely that what happened may have more to do with some other kind of mental health condition like depression or anxiety rather than Asperger's," Laugeson said.


She said those with Asperger's tend to focus on rules and be very law-abiding.


"There's something more to this," she said. "We just don't know what that is yet."


After much debate, the term Asperger's is being dropped from the diagnostic manual used by the nation's psychiatrists. In changes approved earlier this month, Asperger's will be incorporated under the umbrella term "autism spectrum disorder" for all the ranges of autism.


__


AP Writer Matt Apuzzo contributed to this report.


___


Online:


Asperger's information: http://1.usa.gov/3tGSp5


Read More..

Gunman's Computer Damaged, Drive Possibly Ruined













A computer at the Connecticut home where Newtown, Conn., school shooter Adam Lanza lived with his mother was badly damaged, perhaps smashed with a hammer, said police who hope the machine might still yield clues to the gunman's motive.


The computer's hard drive appeared to have been badly damaged with a hammer or screw driver, law enforcement authorities told ABC News, complicating efforts to exploit it for evidence.


Officials have "seized significant evidence at [Lanza's] residence," said Connecticut State Police spokesman Paul Vance, adding that the process of sifting through that much forensic evidence would be a lengthy and "painstaking process."


Authorities also told ABC News that the weapons used in Friday's rampage at Sandyhook Elementary School, which left dead 20 children and seven adults including Lanza's mother Nancy, were purchased by his mother between 2010 and 2012.


According to the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, Lanza visited shooting ranges several times in recent years, and went at least one time with his mother.


The first funeral for a child killed in the massacre was held today in Fairfield, Conn., where mourners gathered to remember the too-short life of first-grader Noah Pozner.


Authorities also revealed this morning that two adult women shot during the rampage survived and their accounts will likely be integral to the investigation.


"Investigators will, in fact, speak with them when it's medically appropriate and they will shed a great deal of light on the facts and circumstances of this tragic investigation," Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance said at a news conference today.


Both survivors are women and are now home from the hospital after being shot, police said. Officials had previously mentioned just one adult survivor. The women have not been identified and police did not give details on their injuries.


READ MORE: School nurse hid from gunman.


Both adults, Vance said, were wounded in the "lower extremities," but did not indicate where in the building they were when they were injured.


Moving trucks were seen outside Sandy Hook Elementary School this morning, as school officials prepare to move furniture and supplies to a vacant school in neighboring Monroe.


Sandy Hook itself will remain a secure crime scene "indefinitely," said Vance.








Calls for Gun Control Surge Following Newtown Shootings Watch Video









Newtown School Shooting: Social Media Reaction Watch Video









Newtown School Shooting: Talking to Kids About Tragedy Watch Video





CLICK HERE for complete coverage of the tragedy at Sandy Hook.


Police say Adam Lanza, 20, forced his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday, spraying bullets on students and faculty. Lanza killed 20 children and six adults before turning the gun on himself.


Lanza also killed his mother Nancy Lanza at the home they shared before going to school.


"There are many, many witnesses that need to be interviewed," Vance said. "We will not stop until we have interviewed every last one of them."


Vance said the investigation could take weeks or months to complete. "It's not something done in 60 minutes like you see on T.V."


Some of the other key witnesses will be children who survived the shooting spree by playing dead, hiding in closets and bathrooms and being rescued by dedicated teachers.


"Any interviews with any children will be done with professionals...as appropriate," Vance said. "We'll handle that extremely delicately when the time arises."


CLICK HERE for a tribute to the shooting victims.


The first funerals for victims of the shooting are today, beginning with 6-year-olds Noah Pozner and Jack Pinto.


Officials said today that the Sandy Hook Elementary School, where the shooting took place, will be closed "indefinitely."


Both the school and the home where shootings took place are being held by police as crime scenes and Vance predicted authorities would spend "months" investigating the elementary school.


All Newtown schools are closed today to give residents more time to cope. Every school except for Sandy Hook is expected to re-open Tuesday.


The town of Monroe has offered to open to Sandy Hook students the Chalk Hill School, a former middle school that currently houses the town's EMS and recreational departments.


Officials in Monroe, less than 10 miles from Newtown, say the building could be ready for students by the end of the week, but have not yet set a date to resume classes.


Nearly 100 volunteers are working to ensure the building complies with fire and security regulations and are working to retorfit the school with bathroom facilities for young children.


"We're working to make the school safe and secure for students," said Monroe Police Department spokesman Lt. Brian H. McCauley.


The neighboring community's school is expected to be ready to accommodate students in the next few days, though an exact schedule has not yet been published.


While the families grieve, federal and state authorities are working around the clock to answer the question on so many minds: "Why?"


ABC News has learned that investigators have seized computers belonging to Adam Lanza from the home he shared with his mother. Three weapons were found at the school scene and a fourth was recovered from Lanza's car. Lanza had hundreds of rounds and used multiple high-capacity magazines when he went on the rampage, according to Connecticut State Police.


Vance said that every single electronic device, weapon and round will be thoroughly examined and investigated as well as every aspect of Lanza's life going "back to the date of birth."


ABC News has learned that both the shooter and his mother spent time at an area gun range; however it was not yet known whether they had shot there.






Read More..

Clinton gets accountability report on Benghazi attacks


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday received an official review of the September attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, setting the stage for testimony on an incident that prompted a political furor and sharp questions about security at U.S. diplomatic facilities overseas.


The State Department said Clinton - who is convalescing after suffering a concussion last week - received the report from the Accountability Review Board formed to probe the attack which killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.


"The ARB has completed its work. Its report has gone to the secretary this morning. She now has it," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.


The committee has been meeting in private and State Department officials have declined to discuss almost all specifics of the Benghazi attack pending its reports.


The findings are expected to cover questions on whether enough attention was given to potential threats and how Washington responded to security requests from U.S. diplomats in Libya.


A determination that top State Department officials turned down those requests, as Republican congressional investigators allege, could refuel criticism of the officials - and possibly even end the careers of some of them.


Clinton had been expected to testify to Congress on December 20 on the report's results, but is under doctors' orders to remain at home this week.


Deputy Secretary William Burns and Deputy Secretary Thomas Nides will testify in her stead at Thursday's open hearings of the Senate and House foreign affairs committees, Nuland said.


Prior to that, the Accountability Review Board's two leaders - retired Ambassador Thomas Pickering and retired chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen - will testify in closed door hearings of the two committees on Wednesday, she said.


POLITICAL FALLOUT


The political uproar over the September 11 Benghazi attack has already claimed one victim.


U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, widely tipped as a front-runner to replace Clinton when she steps down as secretary of state early next year, last week withdrew her name from consideration, saying she wished to avoid a potentially disruptive Senate confirmation process.


Republican lawmakers had blasted Rice for televised comments she made in the aftermath of the attack in which she said preliminary information suggested the assault was the result of protests over an anti-Muslim video made in California rather than a premeditated strike.


Rice has said she was relying on talking points drawn up by U.S. intelligence officials.


Nuland said the final report could contain both classified and unclassified sections, and that only the latter would be made publicly available.


Central questions raised include why the ambassador was in such an unstable part of Libya on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and the Pentagon.


The five-person independent board usually includes retired ambassadors, a former CIA officer and a member of the private sector. It has the power to issue subpoenas, and members are required to have appropriate security clearances to review classified information.


Nuland said that Clinton - who intends to step down toward the end of January when President Barack Obama is sworn in for his second term - was "on the mend" following her concussion, which occurred when she fell as a result of dehydration due to a stomach virus.


She added that Clinton remained open to discussing the attack with lawmakers herself next month.


"She looks forward to continuing to engage with them in January and she will be open to whatever they consider appropriate in that regard," Nuland said. (Editing by Warren Strobel and Mohammad Zargham)



Read More..

Football: Real Madrid held by Espanyol, pressure builds on Mourinho






MADRID: A late goal from substitute Juan Albin gave Espanyol a 2-2 draw against stuttering Real Madrid who will be 13 points off La Liga leaders Barcelona if they beat second-placed Atletico Madrid later Sunday.

The pressure is now firmly on coach Jose Mourinho with the reigning champions unable to beat relegation-threatened Espanyol.

Cristiano Ronaldo equalised for Madrid on the stroke of half-time after Sergio Garcia had put joint-bottom Espanyol ahead on the half hour mark.

Two minutes after the restart, Fabio Coentrao put Real ahead but it was not enough as Albin slotted home from close range two minutes from the end.

Mourinho had already criticised his players for a lacklustre performance in a midweek Spanish Cup game where they lost to Celta Vigo.

He will be even more frustrated after his side failed to wrap up Sunday's game.

Barcelona have won 14 of their first 15 games in a record start in La Liga and a win against Atletico would be a significant blow in the title race.

Jose Callejon was given the job of leading the Real line with Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema both injured.

Angel Di Maria, who is widely believed to be one of the players that Mourinho was referring to for not giving their all against Celta, started on the bench.

Madrid pressed forward from the start with Ronaldo firing past the post from 25 yards and then moments later poking a pass to Luka Modric who should have at least hit the target with a shot inside the area.

New Espanyol coach Javier Aguirre has worked hard on making the defence more solid but he was without captain and first choice keeper Cristian Alvarez and so put his faith in the inexperienced Francisco Casilla to cope with the intimidating Bernabeu.

Casilla first parried a Ronaldo shot and then Pepe wasted an excellent opening when he headed a Mesut Ozil cross straight at him.

There were warning signs at the other end when Simao struck a weak effort when well placed on the left of the area and then Garcia failed to connect with a long ball from playmaker Joan Verdu which would have put him clear on goal.

Modric hit the post for Madrid with a long distance drive midway through the first half while Wakaso Mubarak was pulled off by the Espanyol coach after some wild challenges having already been booked.

Garcia put the visitors ahead with a clinical finish from a Verdu pass that split the Madrid defence and silenced the crowd.

Ronaldo was denied again by Casilla before he did finally put the ball in the back of the net as he knocked in a cross from Sami Khedira.

After the break Madrid had more of a cutting edge and Coentrao, bursting forward from full-back, latched onto a Ronaldo pass and slotted the ball past Casilla.

The Espanyol shot-stopper was in inspired form though as he prevented Madrid from killing off the game by denying Callejon and substitute Di Maria before also tipping a powerful strike from the latter onto the crossbar.

Madrid were made to rue their missed chances as Albin knocked the ball in after a goalmouth melee as the home side desperately sought to clear the ball.

Earlier, Valencia suffered their first defeat under coach Ernesto Valverde as they fell 1-0 at home to Rayo Vallecano.

Chori Dominguez scored from the penalty spot after Tino Costa upended Roberto Trashorras.

A first-half strike from Ruben Garcia gave Levante a 1-0 win away to Zaragoza.

- AFP/fa



Read More..

Law will take its course on Wal-Mart: Tewari

NEW DELHI: The government on Sunday said it will act against Wal-Mart if any violation by the global retail giant to gain entry into the Indian market is established.

"If at all any investigation does conclusively establish that there has been a violation of Indian laws... law will take its own course," information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari said in a TV interview.

The minister also said the time had come for India to have a law modeled on the lines of the US Lobbying Disclosures Act, arguing that such regulation would make it compulsory for political lobbyists to be registered and make periodic disclosures of amount spent.

Tewari, however, clarified that he was making the suggestion in an "individual capacity".

"Time has come. We need to put in place a statutory architecture which makes these declarations essential, even legislators, MPs and people in the executive, if they have in the past or continue to represent a particular company or a group of company, that interest must be declared even before they participate in a debate," Tewari said.

At the same time, the minister sought to make a difference between lobbying and illegal gratification.

"How can you be certain that lobbying automatically translates into illegal gratification? There is nothing to suggest either in jurisprudence or otherwise that the term lobbying is synonymous with illegal gratification. It could, it equally couldn't be. Therefore, an inquiry will bring out the facts and government has agreed to an inquiry," he said.

Tewari also said it was not proper to make any judgment one way or the other before the probe was complete as the government had already announced an investigation by a former judge into the allegations of Walmart spending money on lobbying to get entry into the Indian market.

The minister also hit out at BJP, saying the opposition party has "reversed criminal jurisprudence on its head".

Tewari exuded optimism that Parliament would be able to pass crucial bills on banking, pension and insurance reforms despite the political contradictions as "the real fault line in this country is communalism versus pluralism".

Read More..

Experts: No link between Asperger's, violence


NEW YORK (AP) — While an official has said that the 20-year-old gunman in the Connecticut school shooting had Asperger's syndrome, experts say there is no connection between the disorder and violence.


Asperger's is a mild form of autism often characterized by social awkwardness.


"There really is no clear association between Asperger's and violent behavior," said psychologist Elizabeth Laugeson, an assistant clinical professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.


Little is known about Adam Lanza, identified by police as the shooter in the Friday massacre at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school. He fatally shot his mother before going to the school and killing 20 young children, six adults and himself, authorities said.


A law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the unfolding investigation, said Lanza had been diagnosed with Asperger's.


High school classmates and others have described him as bright but painfully shy, anxious and a loner. Those kinds of symptoms are consistent with Asperger's, said psychologist Eric Butter of Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, who treats autism, including Asperger's, but has no knowledge of Lanza's case.


Research suggests people with autism do have a higher rate of aggressive behavior — outbursts, shoving or pushing or angry shouting — than the general population, he said.


"But we are not talking about the kind of planned and intentional type of violence we have seen at Newtown," he said in an email.


"These types of tragedies have occurred at the hands of individuals with many different types of personalities and psychological profiles," he added.


Autism is a developmental disorder that can range from mild to severe. Asperger's generally is thought of as a mild form. Both autism and Asperger's can be characterized by poor social skills, repetitive behavior or interests and problems communicating. Unlike classic autism, Asperger's does not typically involve delays in mental development or speech.


Experts say those with autism and related disorders are sometimes diagnosed with other mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder.


"I think it's far more likely that what happened may have more to do with some other kind of mental health condition like depression or anxiety rather than Asperger's," Laugeson said.


She said those with Asperger's tend to focus on rules and be very law-abiding.


"There's something more to this," she said. "We just don't know what that is yet."


After much debate, the term Asperger's is being dropped from the diagnostic manual used by the nation's psychiatrists. In changes approved earlier this month, Asperger's will be incorporated under the umbrella term "autism spectrum disorder" for all the ranges of autism.


__


AP Writer Matt Apuzzo contributed to this report.


___


Online:


Asperger's information: http://1.usa.gov/3tGSp5


Read More..

Conn. Shooter Had Hundreds of Rounds













Adam Lanza had hundreds of rounds and used multiple high capacity magazines when he went on a rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School, killing 20 first graders and six adults, Connecticut State Police said today.


After shooting at victims in two classrooms and a hallway with a high-powered semi-automatic rifle, he put a bullet into his own head with a handgun.


"The weapon that was utilized most of the time during this horrific crime was identified as a Bushmaster AR-15 assault weapon," Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance said. "The trajectory of the shots and all of the ammunition used in the horrible crime will be examined."


Vance said three weapons were found at the scene, while a fourth, a shotgun, was recovered from Lanza's vehicle.


While the shattered community of Newtown awaits President Obama's visit this afternoon, plans for the first funerals were announced.


Noah Pozner, the first grader whose twin sister survived the massacre, and 6-year-old Jack Pinto, will be laid to rest in separate ceremonies Monday afternoon.


The funeral for Jessica Rekos, 6, will be held on Tuesday at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church, where several of the victims' families attend mass.


The community faced a new shock today when parishioners attending the midday service at Rose of Lima were told to evacuate after a church official became aware of a credible threat.


About 1,000 people were gathered inside the church at the time observing one of four memorial services being held there.


Witnesses said police entered the church and told parishioners that a threat had been made against the church and the surrounding area and that everyone had to leave immediately.


More than a dozen state troopers armed with assault rifles entered the church's education center next to the church, but after a short time it was determined that threat was over.


Brian Wallace, director of communications for the Diocese of Bridgeport, said that after massacre on Friday, he felt evacuation was a vital precaution to take.


"I don't think any of us could be surprised about anything after what has happened," Wallace said.


Meanwhile, police are working to understand what set Lanza off on his rampage.










Connecticut Shooting: Churches Services Honor Victims Watch Video









Pastor Explains How Girl Played Dead to Survive Watch Video





ABC News has learned that investigators have seized computers belonging to the 20-year-old from the home he shared with his mother Nancy, the same place he killed her before going to the Sandy Hook Elementary School, where he slaughtered students in two first-grade classes and teachers and staff.


CLICK HERE for full coverage of the tragedy at the elementary school.


Authorities are forensically investigating those computers and are also examining devices owned by Ryan Lanza, the gunman's older brother, to see if they can learn anything more about Adam and what caused him to snap.


Members of the community gathered today at churches across the small town, seeking comfort, clarity or just a cry.


With intermittent freezing rain falling, the bells tolled at St. Rose of Lima as parishioners came for the morning service.


Little more than a week before Christmas when congregants celebrate the birth of the savior, they instead were mourning the deaths of people they knew.


Many of the victims attended the church and the clergy is preparing for the funerals of eight of the children.


As parishioners arrived at the church for the morning service, many stopped at a makeshift memorial with flowers, teddy bears and candles. On large white boards, people wrote notes that express condolences, hope, and even forgiveness.


One says "Rest in Peace Sweet Angels."


After a man and woman knelt down at the memorial -- the woman overcome by grief crying into her husband's arms -- two police officers opened their cars with a delivery: bouquets of flowers and teddy bears stacked in the back of their vehicles. They delicately placed each one down and then both knelt down at the vigil.


The female officer began crying and her male partner put his arm around her to comfort her. She quickly got up, walking to her car while wiping away tears, and then they pulled away.


READ: Complete List of Sandy Hook Victims


A mother and two young daughters came next. She gripped one while she also wiped away tears. A father and his young daughter also came up, the father kneeling and talking to the girl before they slowly walked into the church.


A state police trooper was also among those dropping flowers at the memorial comprised of candles, stuffed toys and a sign that says "Sleep in heavenly peace."


Police Tracing Guns Used in Shooting


At a news conference this morning, Vance said there are many pieces missing in the investigation and investigators continue to work inside Sandy Hook Elementary School to collect evidence.


Key to the investigation will also be the four firearms found at or near the crime scene, he said.


"We are tracing them historically, all the way back to when they were on the workbench being assembled," Vance said.


Authorities are wrapping up their processing of the exterior crime scene, which included vehicles parked in the school's lot at the time of the shooting, Vance said, and have began to release the cars back to their owners.


Vance declined to say what evidence has or has not been collected.


"We can't take segments of an investigation and discuss that publicly because something taken out of context could be misinterpreted," he said, adding that in the end, the "goal is to answer every single question.






Read More..

Japan's next PM Abe must deliver on economy, cope with China


TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's hawkish ex-premier Shinzo Abe will get a second chance to run the country after his conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) surged to power in Sunday's election, but must swiftly move to bolster the sagging economy while managing strained ties with China.


Abe, whose party won by a landslide just three years after a crushing defeat, was expected on Monday to meet Natsuo Yamaguchi, the leader of the small New Komeito party, to cement their alliance and confirm economic steps to boost an economy now in its fourth recession since 2000.


The victory by the LDP, which had ruled Japan for most of the past 50 years before it was ousted in 2009, will usher in a government pledged to a tough stance in a territorial row with China, a pro-nuclear energy policy despite the 2011 Fukushima disaster and a potentially risky recipe for hyper-easy monetary policy and big fiscal spending to boost growth.


Projections by TV broadcasters showed that the LDP had won at least 291 seats in the 480-member lower house, while the New Komeito party took at least 29 seats.


That gives the two parties the two-thirds majority needed to overrule parliament's upper house in most matters, where they lack a majority and which can block bills. The "super majority" could help to break a policy deadlock that has plagued the world's third biggest economy since 2007.


Markets have already pushed the yen lower and share prices higher in anticipation of an LDP victory and Abe's economic stimulus. The two-thirds "super majority" could boost share prices and weaken the yen further.


Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) was crushed, forecast to win just about 56 seats - less than a fifth of its showing in 2009, when it swept to power promising to pay more heed to consumers than companies and pry control of policies from bureaucrats.


But voters deemed the pledges honored mostly in the breach and the party was hit by defections before the vote due to Noda's unpopular plan to raise the sales tax to curb public debt already more than twice the size of the economy.


"This was an overwhelming rejection of the DPJ," said Gerry Curtis, a professor at New York's Columbia University.


"Abe was smart to run the campaign saying 'It's the economy, stupid. His hawkish (security) views took second place to fiscal stimulus and getting a dovish Bank of Japan governor and getting the economy going. If he keeps that focus ... he has a chance of improving his standing."


Analyst Bruce Klingner of the Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington said the return of Abe and LDP was foremost a rejection of the DPJ, but "also reflects an embrace of conservative views" after recent years of strained relations with Japan's close neighbors.


"Chinese assertiveness and North Korean provocations nudged the public from its usual post-war complacency toward a new desire to stand up for Japanese sovereignty," he said.


The Japanese favor moving toward "a more normal nation status" and are not embracing resurgent militarism, added Klingner, a former CIA analyst.


Abe, expected to be voted in by parliament on December 26, will also have to prove he has learned from the mistakes of his first administration, plagued by scandals and charges of incompetence.


Voter distaste for both major parties has spawned a clutch of new parties including the Japan Restoration Party, founded by popular Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, which took at least 52 seats, according to media projections.


But media estimates showed turnout at around 59 percent, which could match the previous post-war low.


LDP leader Abe, 58, who quit as premier in 2007 citing ill health, has been talking tough in a row with China over uninhabited isles in the East China Sea, although some experts say he may temper his hard line with pragmatism once in office.


The soft-spoken grandson of a prime minister, who will become Japan's seventh premier in six years, Abe also wants to loosen the limits of a 1947 pacifist constitution on the military, so Japan can play a bigger global security role.


President Barack Obama congratulated Abe and underlined U.S. interest in working with the longstanding American ally.


"The U.S-Japan Alliance serves as the cornerstone of peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific and I look forward to working closely with the next government and the people of Japan on a range of important bilateral, regional and global issues," he said in a statement.


The LDP, which promoted atomic energy during its decades-long reign, is expected to be friendly to nuclear utilities, although deep public concerns remain over safety.


Abe has called for "unlimited" monetary easing and big spending on public works to rescue the economy. Such policies, a centerpiece of the LDP's platform for decades, have been criticized by many as wasteful pork-barrel politics.


Many economists say that prescription for "Abenomics" could create temporary growth and enable the government to go ahead with a planned initial sales tax rise in 2014 to help curb a public debt now twice the size of gross domestic product.


But it looks unlikely to cure deeper ills or bring sustainable growth to Japan's ageing society, and risks triggering a market backlash if investors decide Japan has lost control of its finances.


(Additional reporting by Paul Eckert in Washington; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Eric Walsh)



Read More..