Will media stay on gun story?

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Howard Kurtz: Conventional wisdom is that media will lose interest in guns


• He says that's been the pattern of media behavior after Columbine, other shootings


• This time seems like it might be different, he says


• Kurtz: Reporters profoundly shaken by story, should stay on it

Editor's note: Howard Kurtz is the host of CNN's "Reliable Sources" and is Newsweek's Washington bureau chief. He is also a contributor to the website Daily Download.

(CNN) -- The conventional wisdom is that Newtown has just a few more days to run as a major media story.

The reporters are pulling out of the grief-stricken Connecticut town, which means no more live shots every hour. The White House press corps responded to President Obama's announcement Wednesday of a task force on gun control with the first three reporters asking about the impending fiscal cliff. And after every previous mass shooting, from Columbine to Aurora, the media's attention has soon drifted away.

But I believe this time will be different.

Howard Kurtz

I believe the horror of 20 young children being gunned down has pricked the conscience of those in the news business, along with the rest of America.

I could be wrong, of course. The press is notorious for suffering from ADD.

But every conversation I've had with journalists has quickly drifted to this subject and just as quickly turned intense. Most have talked about how their thoughts have centered on their children, and grandchildren, and the unspeakable fear of anything happening to them. All have spoken about how hard it is to watch the coverage, and many have recalled crying as they watch interviews with the victims' families, or even when Obama teared up while addressing the nation.

Watch: Blaming Jon Stewart for the Newtown Shootings?

I've watched Fox's Megyn Kelly choke back tears on the air after watching an interview from Newtown. I've heard CNN's Don Lemon admit that he is on the verge of crying all the time. I've seen MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman, say that day in Connecticut "changed everything" and prompted him to rethink his longstanding opposition to gun control, which earned him top ratings from the NRA.

Maybe Newtown will be the 9/11 of school safety.

Watch: Media Fantasy: Touting Ben Affleck (Uh Huh) for the Senate

The media paid scant attention to gun control in the past, in part because of a conviction that the NRA would block any reform on Capitol Hill. At the same time, they took their cue from the fact that officeholders in both parties were avoiding the issue at all costs—Republicans because they mainly support the status quo, Democrats because they mostly deem it political poison.

But since when is it our job solely to take dictation from pols? When it comes to subjects like climate change and same-sex marriage, the press has been out ahead of the political establishment. Given the carnage in Newtown as the latest example, journalists should demand whether we can do better. The fact that Obama now promises to submit gun legislation to Congress will help the narrative, but it shouldn't be a mandatory requirement for coverage.

Watch: From Joe Scarborough to Rush Limbaugh, the conservative media meltdown

This is not a plea for a press-driven crusade for gun control. In fact, it's imperative that journalists be seen as honest brokers who are fair to all sides. MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts, in an interview with Republican Rep. Jack Kingston of Georgia, who opposes gun restrictions, said: "So we need to just be complacent in the fact that we can send our children to school to be assassinated." That is demonization, just as some conservative pundits are unfairly accusing liberal commentators who push for gun control of "politicizing" a tragedy or of pushing God out of the public schools.

The question of school safety extends beyond guns to mental illness and societal influences. With even some NRA supporters asking why law-abiding hunters need automatic rifles with high-capacity magazines, it's time for a nuanced debate that goes beyond the usual finger-pointing. Bob Costas got hammered for using an NFL murder-suicide to raise the gun issue during a halftime commentary, but he was right to broach the subject.

Here is where the media have not just an opportunity but a responsibility. The news business has no problem giving saturation coverage to such salacious stories as David Petraeus' dalliance with Paula Broadwell. Isn't keeping our children safe from lunatics far more important by an order of magnitude?

I think the press is up to the challenge. Based on what I've heard in the voices of people in the profession, they will not soon forget what happened in Newtown. And they shouldn't let the rest of us forget either.

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Howard Kurtz.

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Euro survives 2012, further tests in store

BRUSSELS: The battered euro, written off as a dud many times during a crisis-wracked year, appears to have survived 2012, but 2013 could prove just as difficult if the economy continues to struggle.

It finished the year strongly after the 17 eurozone nations earlier this month nailed down a deal to supply long-delayed bailout funds to Greece to keep the country afloat, and the bloc intact.

Athens in turn delivered on its part of the bargain -- more stinging austerity, economic reforms and a tight budget -- all with the aim of cutting its massive debt burden to a more sustainable 124 percent of GDP by 2020.

Then progress towards tighter economic and fiscal coordination in the eurozone, and a key first step towards a shared bank supervision regime, rounded out the gains, leaving the Europe in much better shape than seemed likely at the beginning of the year.

"Many observers felt it was all over for Greece (and its) ... remaining in the eurozone. As year-end approaches, we know that these Casandras were wrong," EU Economics Commissioner Olli Rehn said.

For many months, all analysts could talk about was Greece's likely exit from the eurozone and what it would mean for the bloc's future.

Now, "the likelihood of a member state leaving the eurozone is gone," said Janis Emmanouilidis of the European Policy Centre (EPC) think-tank.

Reflecting the change, Standard and Poor's raised Greece's sovereign debt rating by a massive six notches because of what it termed the "strong determination of ... (eurozone) member states to preserve Greek membership."

Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said the decision "was a very important one that created a climate of optimism. But we know that the road is still long and hard, the hour is not one for easing up."

Analysts also highlighted agreement on the eurozone's Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) to regulate its banks, a first step in ring-fencing lenders who get into trouble and threaten financial disaster.

Perhaps the key breakthrough, giving purpose and backing to the other reforms, was a commitment by European Central Bank head Mario Draghi over the summer months to do anything necessary to save the euro.

In September, Draghi said the ECB would buy up the sovereign debt of any eurozone member state without limit, if that is what it took to keep the financial markets in check.

This pledge of 'Outright Monetary Transactions' meant markets' could no longer enjoy a one-way bet against a member state as the ECB could step in on its side.

The immediate result was a sharp easing in borrowing costs, especially for Spain and Italy which had been tipped to follow Greece, Ireland and Portugal in needing a bailout.

That change, backed up a 100 billion euros eurozone lifeline for its banks, allowed the Spanish government to hold the line.

By year-end, few were talking of Madrid as the next debt crisis casualty, with its banks also being stabilised at a much lower-than-expected cost of some 40 billion euros.

Some analysts said it was important not to get too carried away, however.

The outlook for the next two years "looks less unsettled and will be concerned above all with implementing the new supervisory regime and winding up mechanism for the banks," CM-CIC Securities analysts said in a note.

For Barclays, talks on closer integration in the eurozone could prove heated and even chaotic, with the emergence of deep differences running the risk of stoking fresh tensions on the markets.

Above all, the uncertainties for the coming year are political, with elections due in Italy and then Germany, while the situation in "Greece is still on a knife-edge," said Emmanouilidis at the EPC.

The economic outlook is also clouded, with the eurozone in recession and expected to slow further while unemployment runs at a record 11.7 percent, rising to unprecedented levels around 25 percent in Spain and Greece.

Against that background, German Chancellor Merkel's guarded words on the outlook seem appropriate.

"We have already achieved a lot but I think we still have a very difficult time ahead," Merkel said after the last EU leaders summit of the year earlier this month.

- AFP/ck

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Little common ground in debate on guns

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The NRA wants to staff every school in America with "qualified armed security"


• Obama, Democrats and others see tougher gun control as the way to limit future massacres


• While both sides want to keep children safe, it seems they are living in two different worlds

Washington (CNN) -- For National Rifle Association Vice President Wayne LaPierre and many other pro-gun Americans, the task is clear: The best way to protect children from becoming victims of a slaughter like the one seen last week in Newtown, Connecticut, is to make sure every school in America has "qualified armed security."

For President Barack Obama, many Democratic leaders and a slight majority of the American public, the solution starts with tougher legislation on assault weapons, universal background checks and limits on high-capacity magazines, the first steps needed to begin to make it harder to get at the kinds of firearms that kill thousands of Americans each year.

Both sides are so vested in intractable arguments that there is little room for political common ground. While both sides share a desire to keep children safe, it's like they are living in two different worlds.

On one side, the gun rights advocates argue that a well-armed populace can best defend the innocent. They say that if the teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School were armed -- or if there were armed security at the front door -- fewer lives would have been lost.

On the other side, the gun control advocates are fighting to protect lives by limiting access to guns. They say that if the weapons used in the Newtown massacre weren't so readily available -- there are at least 310 million non-military firearms in the U.S. today -- then the 27 people who were murdered might still be alive.

"It's hard for people to come to the table to at least talk about it," said Alan Lizotte, dean and professor at the State University of New York at Albany's School of Criminal Justice.

Why would someone own a military-style rifle?

It took the NRA -- the nation's most politically powerful gun lobby that boasts 4.3 million members -- one week and a bizarre press conference-turned-one-way-announcement to do just that.

Where some may have hoped for concessions on the NRA's staunch pro-gun, guns-don't-kill-people-people-kill-people stance, the NRA stayed the course, and even doubled down. They offered no willingness to consider any of the proposals offered this week to amend gun laws including limiting access to assault weapons, requiring universal background checks, limiting sales at gun shows and increasing the use of trigger locks.

Instead, the group pointed to media sensationalism, violent video games, gun-free zones in schools, the failure to enforce gun laws already on the books, issues with the nation's mental health system and other societal problems as feeding the spate of gun violence.

NRA clear on gun debate stance: arm schools

They then announced a new national program to train and arm thousands of armed security to be stationed at each of the nation's nearly 100,000 public and 33,000 private schools. They point to the fact that Sandy Hook Elementary School -- and most other schools in America -- are considered gun-free zones as a reason why it was easily attacked.

Policies banning guns at schools create a place that "insane killers" consider "the safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk," LaPierre, said Friday. LaPierre said U.S. society has left children "utterly defenseless."

"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," he said.

The organization also indicated that it would push back against a growing legislative movement to introduce or, in some cases, reintroduce gun control legislation.

"We can't lose precious time debating legislation that won't work," LaPierre said.

The NRA's hard line came in stark contrast to President Obama's own plan after the Newtown shooting.

The list: Despite emotions, little happens legislatively after mass shootings

Obama appealed to the pro-gun lobby who he said "has members who are mothers and fathers" likely impacted by the shooting. But then he also invited them to "do some self-reflection."

Authorities must work to make "access to mental health care at least as easy as access to a gun," and the country needs to tackle a "culture that all too often glorifies guns and violence," he said.

Obama tapped Vice President Joe Biden to lead an administration effort to develop recommendations in January for preventing another tragedy like the Newtown school shooting.

"This is not some Washington commission. This is not something where folks are going to be studying the issue for six months and publishing a report that gets read and then pushed aside," Obama said Wednesday. "This is a team that has a very specific task to pull together real reforms right now."

Across the rest of the nation, attitudes about guns appear to be changing.

A CNN/ORC International poll released Wednesday indicated that a slight majority now favor major restrictions on owning guns or an outright ban on gun ownership by ordinary citizens and more than 6 in 10 favor a ban on semi-automatic assault rifles.

iReport: NRA member cuts up card in protest

Forty-three percent said the shootings in Connecticut make them more likely to support gun control laws, a 15-point increase from January 2011 following the Arizona gun rampage that wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Half of those questioned said the school shootings have not changed their opinions on gun control, down 19 points from January 2011.

But there's an ocean of difference between the two sides, a gulf broadened by heated rhetoric and an almost singular focus on being "right."

NRA comments draw swift opposition in reactions

While gun control advocate New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the NRA's stance "a shameful evasion of the crisis facing our country," gun rights proponent and economist John Lott applauded the group for "coming out strongly questioning these gun free zones."

Connecticut senator-elect Chris Murphy tweeted his disgust after seeing the NRA's statement: "Walking out of another funeral and was handed the NRA transcript. The most revolting, tone deaf statement I've ever seen," he said on Twitter.

Former Republican National Committee Chairman and NRA supporter Michael Steele called the NRA's remarks "very haunting and very disturbing."

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, considered by some as a potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate, also disagreed with the NRA's position. "You don't want to make this an armed camp for kids," he said at an event in Newark Friday morning. "I don't think that's a positive example for children. We should be able to figure out other ways to enhance safety."

The differences both in perspective and approach couldn't be more divergent, folks on both sides of the issue point out.

"I think that people are hard wired differently. If you look at the world as a beautiful place and I'm in the arts, I'm a composer, I write music, I write poetry, if you believe the world's a beautiful place, your viewpoint is different than if you feel 'I have to have my guns to protect myself,' " said Hollis Thoms, 64, from Annapolis, Maryland, as he protested outside of the Willard InterContinental Hotel just after the NRA's press conference.

That's exactly the type of rhetoric that baffles Paul Martin, who commented on CNN.com.

"I am a gun owner. I would be in favor of a ban on assault type weapons, and limiting magazines to a max of 10 rounds. It's the crazies that say 'ban all weapons' that make me nervous about giving any ground at all," Martin wrote.

"Approach it reasonably, with assurances that you won't go bonkers and demand a total ban, and you might make progress. Approach it just from anger and you will be fought all the way."

Opinion: Madness in the air in Washington

CNN's Josh Levs, David Mattingly, Catherine Shoichet, Paul Steinhauser and Holly Yan contributed to this report

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Newtown parents reject NRA plan

NEWTOWN, Conn. When Adam Lanza started his lethal attack on Sandy Hook Elementary School, Andrei Nikitchyuk's eight year-old son and another third grader were on their way to the principal's office. It was their turn to bring the daily attendance sheet to the front office, near where principal Dawn Hochsprung and psychologist Mary Sherlach would become the first casualties inside the school.

Play Video

Gun control advocate speaks out on defiant NRA

Play Video

Mental illness and the gun control debate

"When they got close to the office, they heard the shots fired, my son saying that the bullets were flying by him," Nikitchyuk recalled in an interview with CBS News. "I don't think he saw the bullets, but probably he saw the hits in the wall next to them."

Within moments, second grade teacher Abbey Clements pulled the boys into her classroom, where she had already hidden 19 children behind a wall, and locked the door.

"She really is a hero, and we are indebted to her," Nikitchyuk said. "She saved those two kids."

Nikitchyuk's son, nicknamed Bear, is his third child to attend Sandy Hook Elementary, following the path of his two older sisters. As the whole suburban town of 28,000 residents continues to struggle with the shock and grief of the shooting spree that claimed the lives 20 first-graders, 6 adults, and the killer's mother, Nikitchyuk has channeled his emotions into action for greater gun control.

"I will do whatever is in my power to change the situation," he said. "What I don't understand is how the gun manufacturing lobby can argue with a tragedy like this. I don't know how they are looking in the faces of their children. I would like them to make personal statements that they will do whatever it takes to make sure that our children are safe. I want to tell Wall Street to not expect the same type profits of arms manufacturers like they had before."

Nikitchyuk, who immigrated from Russia 22 years ago, is a former Soviet military officer who was trained to fire the Russian-made AK-47 machine gun (sold in U.S. under the trade name Saiga). CBS News has reported that Adam Lanza had a Saiga shotgun in the trunk of the car he drove to the school - the only one of four guns he possessed that he did not bring inside.

"Why are we allowing sales of weapons as terrible as this in this country?" Nikitchyuk asked. "Can you tell me what sport could use such a weapon. If you want to use guns for hunting, that's one thing. You don't need an AK 47."

Play Video

A "good guy with a gun" in every school?

Lanza committed the 26 murders at the school with a .223 caliber Bushmaster semi-automatic rifle and emptied at least three 30-bullet magazines. He also carried a Sig Sauer 9mm pistol (the same model issued to Secret Service agents), and a Glock 10mm semi-automatic pistol (issued to park rangers to shot wild game), which he used to kill himself once police arrived on the scene.

"This is insanity," said Nikitchyuk. "We have an escalation of weapons in this country. This is a civilian country. Why do we give these kind of military-grade munitions in the hands of people that are as unstable as that person was?"

On Tuesday Nikitchyuk went public by attending a news conference at the Capitol, in Washington, along with many families victimized by other mass shootings, from Columbine High School in 1999 to the Aurora movie massacre this past summer. The event was organized by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Nikitchyuk later attended a White House meeting with Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett.

Play Video

Newtown police chief shares his story

"We know that the President is committed," he said.

Nikitchyuk appealed to pro-gun rights members of Congress to support the President's proposals to ban the sale of assault weapons and gun magazines that hold more than ten bullets, while expanding background checks to all guns buyers, including at gun shows.

"There is nothing wrong about changing your opinion when you have a really strong evidence. What can be stronger than what happened in Sandy Hook?" Nikitchyuk said. "As a country, we cannot move forward unless we change our gun laws."

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Obama, Congress Waving Bye-Bye Lower Taxes?

The first family arrived in the president's idyllic home state of Hawaii early today to celebrate the holidays, but President Obama, who along with Michelle will pay tribute Sunday to the late Sen. Daniel Inouye at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, could be returning home to Washington sooner than he expected.

That's because the President didn't get his Christmas wish: a deal with Congress on the looming fiscal cliff.

Members of Congress streamed out of the Capitol Friday night with no agreement to avert the fiscal cliff -- a massive package of mandatory tax increases and federal spending cuts triggered if no deal is worked out to cut the deficit. Congress is expected to be back in session by Thursday.

It's unclear when President Obama may return from Hawaii. His limited vacation time will not be without updates on continuing talks. Staff members for both sides are expected to exchange emails and phone calls over the next couple of days.

Meanwhile, Speaker of the House John Boehner is home in Ohio. He recorded the weekly GOP address before leaving Washington, stressing the president's role in the failure to reach an agreement on the cliff.

"What the president has offered so far simply won't do anything to solve our spending problem and begin to address our nation's crippling debt," he said in the recorded address, "The House has done its part to avert this entire fiscal cliff. ... The events of the past week make it clearer than ever that these measures reflect the will of the House."

Fiscal Cliff Negotiations Halted for Christmas Watch Video

Cliffhanger: Congress Heads Home after 'Plan B' Vote Pulled from House Floor Watch Video

Fiscal Cliff: Boehner Doesn't Have Votes for Plan B Watch Video

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell echoed the sentiment while lamenting the failure to reach a compromise.

"I'm stuck here in Washington trying to prevent my fellow Kentuckians having to shell out more money to Uncle Sam next year," he said.

McConnell is also traveling to Hawaii to attend the Inouye service Sunday.

If the White House and Congress cannot reach a deficit-cutting budget agreement by year's end, by law the across-the-board tax hikes and spending cuts -- the so called fiscal cliff -- will go into effect. Many economists say that will likely send the economy into a new recession.

Reports today shed light on how negotiations fell apart behind closed doors. The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, reported that when Boehner expressed his opposition to tax rate increases, the president allegedly responded, "You are asking me to accept Mitt Romney's tax plan. Why would I do that?"

The icy exchange continued when, in reference to Boehner's offer to secure $800 billion in revenue by limiting deductions, the speaker reportedly implored the president, "What do I get?"

The president's alleged response: "You get nothing. I get that for free."

The account is perhaps the most thorough and hostile released about the series of unsuccessful talks Obama and Boehner have had in an effort to reach an agreement about the cliff.

Unable to agree to a "big deal" on taxes and entitlements, the president is now reportedly hoping to reach a "small deal" with Republicans to avoid the fiscal cliff.

Such a deal would extend unemployment benefits and set the tone for a bigger deal with Republicans down the line.

In his own weekly address, Obama called this smaller deal "an achievable goal ... that can get done in 10 days."

But though there is no definitive way to say one way or the other whether it really is an achievable goal, one thing is for certain: Republican leadership does not agree with the president on this question.

Of reaching an agreement on the fiscal cliff by the deadline, Boehner said, "How we get there, God only knows."

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Squash: World No. 1 Nicol David extends haul of World Open titles

GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands: Nicol David extended her record of World Open titles to seven from eight finals on Friday with a balanced performance and great patience to beat English third seed Laura Massaro.

The Malaysian heroine's 11-6 11-8 11-6 victory silenced critics who had suggested younger rivals were closing the gap on the 29-year-old champion.

Massaro forced many long rallies and even led 7-5 in the second game, but David responded well to the important moments which followed.

She mixed containment with well-timed drops and lightning-quick changes of direction that prevented her opponent from getting a crucial foothold in the match.

The outcome was that David only dropped one game throughout the entire tournament, but she had to focus harder and for longer in the final than in any of her four other encounters.

Her relief and joy at surviving the perpetual pressure of expectations yet again was smilingly obvious.

She held her head in both hands, then placed her hands high on the court, and finally caressed the ball affectionately against a wall before allowing herself to accept that no more was required of her racket.

Then her words reflected the frequent struggle between doubt and self-confidence.

"I can't believe it," she said. "I just can't believe it.

"I am just so pleased with my match. Laura pushed me every point. There was no point where I could let up because she was just on it every point. She played a very good match."

David knew the danger well as Massaro is one of the few players to have beaten her twice. However, she did so last year and, although the challenger has improved further since then, the champion at her best has too, perhaps just as much.

Two of the most crucial moments came when David got back to 7-7 in the pivotal middle game and then nosed ahead to 8-7 with a disputed point.

The levelling rally saw brilliantly nimble retrieves from David, plus some patient backhand wall straight driving with a tight little backhand drop to finish it.

That was followed in the next rally by a marginally mistimed backhand drive by Massaro, which caused the ball to come away from the wall and resulted in her slightly impeding David.

A penalty stroke was awarded, Massaro's video review appeal failing to get the decision overturned.

David pushed hard to capitalise, offered a rare fist pump when she broke through to a two-game lead, and was quickly five points up in the third and motoring away.

"I am a little bit disappointed with that," said Massaro, who had saved a match point in a long and hard semi-final with Raneem El Weleily, the second-seeded Egyptian, and may have paid a price in the third game of the final.

"It was just a few points here and there and that's all the difference," she said. "The middle of the games were so crucial and that's what I have to work on.

"It's still pretty rare that she is beaten. We are still training hard and improving and she's rising to the challenge."

To do that well as she moves through her 30th year, David may need to select peaks more carefully for the tournaments she really wants to win.

But at her best, she is still too fine an athlete and too steady a rallyer for everyone, even during her moments of doubt. Her high profile among the all-time greats is likely to rise yet further.

- AFP/al

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3 charged in deadly home explosion

By Logan Burruss, CNN

updated 6:11 PM EST, Fri December 21, 2012

Bob Leonard Jr., left, Mark Leonard and Monserrate Shirley are accused in a deadly explosion.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Two brothers among accused in explosion at that killed couple next door


• Explosion injured 12 other people and caused $4 million in damage


• Investigators found abnormalities in gas line at suspect's home, affidavit says

(CNN) -- Three Indiana residents were arrested Friday on charges of arson and felony murder in a fatal house explosion in Indianapolis in November, according to the Marion County, Indiana, prosecutor's office.

Monserrate Shirley and brothers Mark Leonard and Bob Leonard Jr. were arrested Friday morning and charged with two counts of felony murder in the deaths of John and Jennifer Longworth, the neighbors of Shirley and Mark Leonard who were killed by the explosion at Shirley's home in the Richmond Hill area on November 10.

"We have to acknowledge that we are helpless to alleviate the pain and anguish of such innocent victims and their families," prosecutor Terry Curry said at a news conference Friday, according to a news release. "However, what we as a public safety community can do and must do is devote our best efforts to see that justice is served on behalf of those victims."

The explosion also injured 12 people and caused roughly $4 million in residential damage, according to the prosecutor's office.

An investigation led by local and federal authorities, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, revealed suspicious behavior and circumstances surrounding the explosion. In particular, various elements of the gas line at Shirley's home may have been tampered with before the blast, including a missing step-down regulator, which reduces gas pressure entering the home, and a missing on/off valve to the residence's gas fireplace.

"The absence of the valve and regulator would explain how such a large volume of gas would be released into the home," Curry told CNN.

In addition, the digital thermostat at Shirley's home had been replaced by a slide-switch thermostat that "will produce a spark when the thermostat reaches a specified temperature," the probable cause affidavit says. However, it appears that the thermostat did not contribute to the explosion; instead, it appears to have been started by the microwave in the kitchen, which was a model that could be programmed to start 24 hours in advance.

Witnesses interviewed during the investigation indicated that the three accused may have a long history of fraud, particularly Mark Leonard, who has allegedly been participating in confidence schemes since 1995, according to the affidavit. The investigation also revealed that Shirley filed for bankruptcy in 2012.

In addition to two counts of felony murder, the accused are charged with conspiracy to commit arson, 12 counts of arson as a Class A felony and 33 counts of arson as a Class B felony. Mark Leonard and Shirley were also charged with conspiracy to commit arson as a Class B felony. They are being held at the Marion County Jail without bail, and an initial court hearing is scheduled for Monday morning.

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Obama Still an 'Optimist' on Cliff Deal

Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

WASHINGTON D.C. – Ten days remain before the mandatory spending cuts and tax increases known as the “fiscal cliff” take effect, but President Obama said he is still a “hopeless optimist” that a federal budget deal can be reached before the year-end deadline that economists agree might plunge the country back into recession.

“Even though Democrats and Republicans are arguing about whether those rates should go up for the wealthiest individuals, all of us – every single one of us -agrees that tax rates shouldn’t go up for the other 98 percent of Americans, which includes 97 percent of small businesses,” he said.

He added that there was “no reason” not to move forward on that aspect, and that it was “within our capacity” to resolve.

The question of whether to raise taxes on incomes over $250,000 remains at an impasse, but is only one element of nuanced legislative wrangling that has left the parties at odds.

For ABC News’ breakdown of the rhetoric versus the reality, click here.

At the White House news conference this evening, the president confirmed he had spoken today to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, although no details of the conversations were disclosed.

The talks came the same day Speaker Boehner admitted “God only knows” the solution to the gridlock, and a day after mounting pressure from within his own Republican Party forced him to pull his alternative proposal from a prospective House vote. That proposal, ”Plan B,” called for extending current tax rates for Americans making up to $1 million a year, a far wealthier threshold than Democrats have advocated.

Boehner acknowledged that even the conservative-leaning “Plan B” did not have the support necessary to pass in the Republican-dominated House, leaving a resolution to the fiscal cliff in doubt.

“In the next few days, I’ve asked leaders of Congress to work towards a package that prevents a tax hike on middle-class Americans, protects unemployment insurance for 2 million Americans, and lays the groundwork for further work on both growth and deficit reduction,” Obama said. ”That’s an achievable goal.  That can get done in 10 days.”

Complicating matters: The halls of Congress are silent tonight. The House of Representatives began its holiday recess Thursday and Senate followed this evening.

Meanwhile, the president has his own vacation to contend with. Tonight, he was embarking for Hawaii and what is typically several weeks of Christmas vacation.

However, during the press conference the president said he would see his congressional colleagues “next week” to continue negotiations, leaving uncertain how long Obama plans to remain in the Aloha State.

The president said he hoped the time off would give leaders “some perspective.”

“Everybody can cool off; everybody can drink some eggnog, have some Christmas cookies, sing some Christmas carols, enjoy the company of loved ones,” he said. “And then I’d ask every member of Congress, while they’re back home, to think about that.  Think about the obligations we have to the people who sent us here.

“This is not simply a contest between parties in terms of who looks good and who doesn’t,” he added later. “There are real-world consequences to what we do here.”

Obama concluded by reiterating that neither side could walk away with “100 percent” of its demands, and that it negotiations couldn’t remain “a contest between parties in terms of who looks good and who doesn’t.”

Boehner’s office reacted quickly to the remarks, continuing recent Republican statements that presidential leadership was at fault for the ongoing gridlock.

“Though the president has failed to offer any solution that passes the test of balance, we remain hopeful he is finally ready to get serious about averting the fiscal cliff,” Boehner said. “The House has already acted to stop all of the looming tax hikes and replace the automatic defense cuts. It is time for the Democratic-run Senate to act, and that is what the speaker told the president tonight.”

The speaker’s office said Boehner “will return to Washington following the holiday, ready to find a solution that can pass both houses of Congress.”

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Ex-Beatle's widow lauds Ravi Shankar at US memorial

ENCINITAS, California: Former Beatle George Harrison's widow Olivia joined hundreds of fans and family of Ravi Shankar on Thursday at an open-air memorial to the Indian sitar legend near his California home.

Anoushka Shankar, daughter of the late musician who died last week near San Diego, and her step-sister Grammy-winning singer Norah Jones also paid their last respects at the service in a palm tree-lined meditation centre.

Tributes were read out from fellow musicians and artists who had been inspired by Shankar, labelled "The Godfather of World Music" by the Beatles and compared to Mozart by violin maestro Yehudi Menuhin.

Harrison, whose late husband learned sitar from Shankar and collaborated with him notably on the ground-breaking Concert for Bangladesh in 1971, said the former Beatle had learned so much from their friendship.

"They were like father and son as well as brothers... they made each other laugh as if they shared a secret. And I'm sure they did," said the 64-year-old, whose husband died of cancer in 2001.

Shankar "laid the stepping stones from West to East, that led George to new concepts, alternative philosophies and completely transformed his musical sensibilities," she said.

"They exchanged ideas and melodies until their minds and hearts, East and West, were entwined, like a double helix," she added in Encinitas, where Shankar had a home.

Shankar's 31-year-old daughter Anoushka -- also a sitar player, and just nominated for a Grammy -- told the audience that her father would have approved of the memorial's venue, the Self-Realization Fellowship spiritual centre.

"My father loved spending time here so much, so it feels so right for us to be here celebrating his journey," she said, before tributes were read out from singer Peter Gabriel and film director Martin Scorsese.

Gabriel said: "Ravi Shankar opened the door to non-Western music for millions of people around the world."

"His music has such power, seeming ancient and immediate, impassioned and meditative, full of sorrow and joy. He was a true master," said Scorsese, "From the first time I met him ... his brilliant sitar playing has mesmerised me."

Shankar died last Tuesday at the age of 92, after failing to recover from surgery at a hospital in La Jolla, near San Diego. His family was at his bedside.

Private memorial services were announced both in the United States and India, where Shankar also had a home.

Jazzy soul singer Jones, Shankar's daughter from an affair with a US concert producer, was dressed in black and kept a low profile at Thursday's event in Encinitas, up the coast from San Diego.

His widow Sukanya was also at the California memorial, which started with prayers chanted by M.N. Nandakumara of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan institute for Indian art and culture in London.

Nandakumara said that Shankar's music "brought people of various countries, communities together to his soul-stirring music, which was matchless.

"I do not know another musician who has understood the Eastern and Western music the way (Shankar) understood it, and interpreted it in such a way that people around the world were mesmerized by it," he said.

As well as Indian family and friends, Thursday's event -- at which speakers were flanked on stage by photos of Shankar at various stages of his life -- was attended by locals and other fans and followers.

"He's local, he's part of the community here," said Eddy Jimenez, a musician and trumpet player from Encinitas, comparing Shankar's influence and music to that of Harrison's fellow Beatle John Lennon.

"He's a bridge between humanity, really, not just East and West. I'm just here to pay my respects," the 61-year-old told AFP.

-AFP/fl

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Boehner scraps his fiscal cliff plan after failing to get votes

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: "The president will work with Congress to get this done," the White House says


• The House Speaker says his Plan B wasn't voted on because it didn't have "sufficient support"


• A bill to alter cuts did narrowly pass the House; the White House says it would veto


• The fiscal cliff's tax hikes and spending cuts are set to take effect in January

Washington (CNN) -- House Speaker John Boehner's proposal to avert the looming fiscal cliff's automatic tax increases failed to curry enough Republican support Thursday night, after which Congress left for the holiday with no clear end in sight in the high-stakes debate.

Boehner said earlier Thursday that he was confident that his so-called Plan B -- which would extend tax cuts that are set to expire at year's end for most people while allowing rates to increase to 1990s levels on income over $1 million -- would pass the House, and in the process put pressure on President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Senate. But his gambit seemed in doubt earlier Thursday as Republican leaders struggled to get most all their members to sign on -- even enlisting senators like Sen. Rob Portman, to work the House floor -- knowing the chamber's Democrats oppose it.

Then, around 8 p.m., House Majority Leader Eric Cantor announced that the measure would not go up for a vote as planned.

"The House did not take up the tax measure today because it did not have sufficient support from our members to pass," Boehner said in a statement. "Now it is up to the president to work with Senator (Harry) Reid on legislation to avert the fiscal cliff."

Democratic leaders already had signaled they oppose the so-called Plan B.

After Thursday night's unexpected reversal, Republican legislators walked past reporters through the halls of Congress, and most did not take questions. One who did -- Rep. Jeff Flake, an Arizonan who will move to the Senate next month -- said he was disappointed.

"It's too bad; I'd rather vote on it tonight," said Flake, who said he sides with Democrats in backing the extension of tax cuts except for household income of more than $250,000. "Get it done."

What this means next in the fiscal cliff talks is unclear. From here, scenarios range from intensified and ultimately successful talks in the coming days or entrenchment as the fiscal cliff becomes a reality next year, when a new Congress could enter negotiations with Obama.

The Plan B was significant because Republican leaders previously insisted they wouldn't raise rates on anyone, while Obama called tax rates for those earning more than $250,000 threshold to return to 1990s levels while extending tax cuts for everyone else.

Although the House didn't vote on Boehner's tax measure, most Republicans did vote together earlier Thursday as the House narrowly approved, 215-209, a related measure to alter automatic spending cuts set to kick in next year under the fiscal cliff, replacing cuts to the military with reductions elsewhere. The Congressional Budget Office said this would lead to $217.7 billion in cuts over the next decade, short of the $1.2 trillion in cuts that would go into effect in January if the fiscal cliff isn't averted.

Moments after that vote, the White House issued a statement indicating it would veto this bill. But that should be a moot point, since Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said he won't bring it up for a vote.

Republicans consider piggybacking spending cuts to 'Plan B'

"For weeks, the White House said that if I moved on rates, that they would make substantial concessions on spending cuts and entitlement reforms," House Speaker John Boehner said before his plan fell flat. "I did my part. They've done nothing."

While the Ohio congressman said Obama seems "unwilling to stand up to his own party on the big issues that face our country," Democrats say Republican leaders are buckling to their conservative base by backing off as negotiations seemed to be nearing a deal.

White House spokesman Jay Carney called the GOP alternatives "a major step backwards," claiming they'd lead to extended tax cuts of $50,000 for millionaires. Reid slammed the two Republican measures -- the one that passed and the one that wasn't brought up for a vote -- as "pointless political stunts."

The war of words notwithstanding, Boehner, Carney and Senate Democratic leaders all said they are ready to talk. Reid has said the Senate -- with many members attending a memorial service Friday and funeral in Hawaii on Sunday for Sen. Daniel Inouye -- will be back at work December 27. And after Thursday's session, Cantor's office said legislative business was finished for the week but the House could reconvene after Christmas if needed.

"I remain hopeful," Boehner said. "Our country has big challenges, and the president and I are going to have to work together to solve those challenges."

The path toward the fast-approaching fiscal cliff

The possibility of a fiscal cliff -- which economists warn will hit the American economy hard -- was set in motion two years ago, as a way to force action on mounting government debt. Negotiations between top Congressional Republicans and Democrats resumed after Obama's re-election last month as did the barbs from both sides.

Polling has consistently shown most Americans back the president, who insists wealthy Americans must pay more, rather than Boehner and his Republican colleagues, who have balked at tax rate hikes and demanded spending cuts and entitlement program reforms.

A new CNN/ORC International survey released Thursday showed that just over half of respondents believe Republicans should give up more in any solution and consider the party's policies too extreme.

CNN poll: Are GOP policies too extreme?

The two sides seemingly had made progress on forging a $2 trillion deficit reduction deal that included new revenue sought by Obama and spending cuts and entitlement changes desired by Boehner.

Senior administration officials said Obama and Boehner have not spoken since Monday, when the president made a counterproposal to a Republican offer over the weekend.

The president's offer set $400,000 as the household income threshold for a tax rate increase. It also included a new formula for the consumer price index applied to benefits for programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid to protect against inflation, much to the chagrin of some liberals.

The new calculation, called chained CPI, includes assumptions on consumer habits in response to rising prices, such as seeking cheaper alternatives, and would result in smaller benefit increases in future years. Statistics supplied by opponents say the change would mean Social Security recipients would get $6,000 less in benefits over the first 15 years of chained CPI.

Boehner essentially halted negotiations by introducing his Plan B on Tuesday. He described it as a fallback option to prevent a sweeping tax increase when tax cuts dating to President George W. Bush's administration expire in two weeks. The spending cut vote -- similar to one passed by the House last year that went nowhere in the Senate -- was added to the docket later Thursday, to appeal to conservative legislators upset about backing a tax increase without acting on spending and protecting the military budget.

The House speaker's reasoning was that the passage of Plan B and the spending bill would put the onus on Obama and Senate Democrats to accept them or offer a compromise.

For now, the Obama administration won't have to weigh in on the tax part of that scenario. As to the House-approved spending cuts bill, White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage dismissed the GOP alternative as "nothing more than a dangerous diversion" for eliminating federal funding by negatively impacting millions of seniors, disabled individuals and poor and at-risk children.

In a statement Thursday night, the White House didn't address Thursday's House proceedings but referenced its top priority -- ensuring that 98% of Americans don't see their taxes rise in January. The statement expressed confidence that there will be deal on the fiscal cliff but with no explanation of how, when or what such an agreement would look like.

"The president will work with Congress to get this done, and we are hopeful that we will be able to find a bipartisan solution quickly that protects the middle class and our economy," the White House said.

Delay of 100 million tax returns?

CNN's Tom Cohen, Greg Botelho, Joe Sterling and Ted Barrett contributed to this report.

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It's already Dec. 21 in Europe, so where's doomsday?

MERIDA, Mexico Doomsday hour is here, at least in much of the world, and so still are we.

According to legend, the ancient Mayans' long-count calendar ends at midnight Thursday, ushering in the end of the world.

Didn't happen.

"This is not the end of the world. This is the beginning of the new world," Star Johnsen-Moser, an American seer, said at a gathering of hundreds of spiritualists at a convention center in the Yucatan city of Merida, an hour and a half from the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza.

"It is most important that we hold a positive, beautiful reality for ourselves and our planet. ... Fear is out of place."

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Only place to be spared by Mayan apocalypse

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Doomsday loophole?

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Instinct for survival: Ways we've tried to stave off apocalypse

As the appointed time came and went in several parts of the world, there was no sign of the apocalypse.

Indeed, the social network Imgur posted photos of clocks turning midnight in the Asia-Pacific region with messages such as: "The world has not ended. Sincerely, New Zealand."

In Merida, the celebration of the cosmic dawn opened inauspiciously, with a fumbling of the sacred fire meant to honor the calendar's conclusion.

Gabriel Lemus, the white-haired guardian of the flame, burned his finger on the kindling and later had to scoop up a burning log that fell from the ceremonial brazier onto the stage.

Still, Lemus was convinced that it was a good start, as he was joined by about 1,000 other shamans, seers, stargazers, crystal enthusiasts, yogis, sufis and swamis.

"It is a cosmic dawn," Lemus declared. "We will recover the ability to communicate telepathically and levitate objects ... like our ancestors did."

Celebrants later held their arms in the air in a salute to the Thursday morning sun.

"The galactic bridge has been established," intoned spiritual leader Alberto Arribalzaga. "At this moment, spirals of light are entering the center of your head ... generating powerful vortexes that cover the planet."

Despite all the ritual and banter, few here actually believed the world would end Friday; the summit was scheduled to run through Sunday. Instead, participants said they were here to celebrate the birth of a new age.

A Mexican Indian seer who calls himself Ac Tah, and who has traveled around Mexico erecting small pyramids he calls "neurological circuits," said he holds high hopes for Friday.

"We are preparing ourselves to receive a huge magnetic field straight from the center of the galaxy," he said.

Play Video

Archaeologists find 2nd Mayan artifact with 12-21-12 date

Terry Kvasnik, 32, a stunt man from Manchester, England, said his motto for the day was "be in love, don't be in fear." As to which ceremony he would attend on Friday, he said with a smile, "I'm going to be in the happiest place I can."

At dozens of booths set up in the convention hall, visitors could have their auras photographed with "Chi" light, get a shamanic cleansing or buy sandals, herbs and whole-grain baked goods. Cleansing usually involves having copal incense waved around one's body.

Visitors could also learn the art of "healing drumming" with a Mexican Otomi Indian master, Dabadi Thaayroyadi, who said his slender hand-held drums are made with prayers embedded inside. The drums emit "an intelligent energy" that can heal emotional, physical and social ailments, he said.

During the opening ceremony, participants chanted mantras to the blazing Yucatan sun, which quickly burned the fair-skinned crowd.

Violeta Simarro, a secretary from Perpignan, France, taking shelter under an awning, noted that the new age won't necessarily be easy.

"It will be a little difficult at first, because the world will need a complete 'nettoyage' (cleansing), because there are so many bad things," she said.

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Boehner Pulls Plan B Option

In a surprise development late Thursday night, House Speaker John Boehner pulled his so-called "Plan B option" -- an extension of current tax rates for Americans making up to $1 million a year -- from the House floor, admitting that it did not have the support necessary to pass and leaving a resolution to the fiscal cliff in question.

"The House did not take up the tax measure today because it did not have sufficient support from our members to pass. Now it is up to the president to work with [Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid on legislation to avert the fiscal cliff," Boehner, R-Ohio, wrote in a statement. "The House has already passed legislation to stop all of the Jan. 1 tax rate increases and replace the sequester with responsible spending cuts that will begin to address our nation's crippling debt. The Senate must now act."

Immediately after the announcement that "plan B" had failed, Dow Jones Industrial futures traded down, with other stock indicators also signaling sharp losses and volatility for Friday morning's opening -- though stock futures generally are lightly traded in the evening. Indicators soon bounced off the initial lows but still signaled a rough start to the final trading session of the week.

In Washington, all legislative business has concluded for the week. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's office said that members could still return "after the Christmas holiday when needed" if a breakthrough is eventually reached.

Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo

Outgoing Sen. Joe Lieberman Criticizes Colleagues for Putting Party Above Country Watch Video

President Obama Promises Action to Reduce Gun Violence Watch Video

The outlook for a deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" by Christmas has reached a new low, with no clear path forward, though lawmakers and the White House maintained hope this week for a deficit-reduction compromise by the end of the year.

A senior aide to the speaker confirmed late Thursday evening that Boehner and Obama still have not spoken since Monday evening, when the speaker told the president that he would move ahead with his backup plan, although staff-level talks have continued behind the scenes.

"Speaker Boehner tried to play hardball by asking his members to vote for a tax increase. He learned the hard way that you must find a bipartisan solution," one senior House Democratic leadership aide said reacting to the developments. "Walking away has considerably weakened him and put the country literally on the precipice of the cliff."

Republicans had sought to act to avoid an income tax hike on 99 percent of Americans in 2013, and leverage new pressure on President Obama in the ongoing talks for a broader "cliff" deal.

Obama has threatened to veto the legislation, calling it counterproductive and the cuts burdensome for the middle class, and Reid, D-Nev., has promised not to bring it up for consideration in the Senate.

"'Plan B' ... is a multi-day exercise in futility at a time when we do not have the luxury of exercises in futility," said White House spokesman Jay Carney Thursday.

Democrats complained that the posturing on "plan B" distracted the focus from a broader bargain on taxes, spending, entitlement reforms and other measures that had begun coming into focus earlier this week.

Reid said the Senate would break for the Christmas holiday but return to Washington one week from Thursday. President Obama will not join his family in Hawaii on Friday as planned if the "cliff" is not resolved, an administration official said.

"If you look at Speaker Boehner's proposal and you look at my proposal, they're actually pretty close," Obama said Wednesday, appealing for a big "fair deal."

"It is a deal that can get done," he said. "But it cannot be done if every side wants 100 percent. And part of what voters were looking for is some compromise up here."

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On gun control, look to Biden

Rebecca Puckwalter-Poza says Vice President Joe Biden was a leader on gun control in the Senate.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Rebecca Buckwalter-Poza: Obama has apparently tapped Biden as gun control point man


• She says he was leader in Senate on issue, shepherding 1994 gun control legislation


• It banned manufacture of many semi-automatic guns,criminalized high-capacity magazines


• Writer: Biden worked across aisle; he's adroit, determined statesman, right man for job

Editor's note: Rebecca Buckwalter-Poza served as deputy national press secretary of the Democratic National Committee during the 2008 election.

(CNN) -- President Obama's poignant speech at Sunday's interfaith vigil in Newtown, Connecticut, set the tone for our mourning. Now, America's path forward will be decided out of the spotlight. The question of whether the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School will linger only in memory or be memorialized by an enduring shift in gun policy can only be answered by the legislature.

Incoming Judiciary Committee chair Sen. Diane Feinstein has announced she will introduce an enhanced assault weapons ban on the first day of the new Congress, but the fate of that legislation is in the hands of Vice President Joe Biden.

Biden will reportedly lead the administration's political response.

Rebecca Buckwalter-Poza

No politician could be better suited to the challenge of passing federal gun control legislation than Biden. Over the past four decades, Biden has been one of the most consistent and effective advocates of gun control and violence prevention legislation. In 1994, Biden shepherded the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act through the Senate, a near miracle six years in the making.

After Biden wrote the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act in 1988, Republicans quickly filibustered, blocking the bill for four years. He steered "the Biden crime bill" through the lengthy filibuster by negotiating with Republicans and making revisions. "Every single line in that bill was written with every single major Republican a part of it," Biden said in a September 12, 1994, interview on the Charlie Rose show.

The Clinton administration and then-Sen. Biden repeatedly refused to make concessions that would have jeopardized the substance of the act, even after debate over the amendment we know as the federal assault weapons ban imperiled the entire bill. Instead of backing down, Biden took on Republican Sens. Phil Gramm and Orrin Hatch and faced opponents attacking the bill as taxpayer-funded "dance lessons and midnight basketball for robbers and rapists."

France: Where fear and taboo control guns more than laws

Biden did not budge: "Make no mistake, this is about guns, guns, guns." The crime bill passed the Senate in November 1993.

When the bill foundered in the House, Biden persevered. It reached President Clinton's desk thanks to an unexpected, eleventh-hour push from a "Lost Battalion of Republicans" led by Rep. Mike Castle of Delaware. He'd been swayed during a series of meetings with the House Speaker and other House Republicans, at which Biden was the only Senator in attendance.

The resulting legislation banned the manufacture of 19 types of semi-automatic firearms and criminalized the possession of high-capacity magazines. The process taught a critical lesson: When otherwise "pro-gun'" lawmakers have to choose between a crime bill including a gun ban and inaction, it is more than possible for them to vote to protect Americans. Unfortunately, the assault weapons ban expired in 2004. Since then, numerous lawmakers, including Joe Biden, have tried and failed to get the ban renewed.

Congress now has a rare opportunity to take new action on gun control. After Newtown, proponents of stricter gun legislation are backed by public opinion and bolstered by a surge of political support. The "pro-gun" wing of the GOP and the National Rifle Association remain silent even as their supporters are defecting publicly.

Democratic Sens. Harry Reid and Joe Manchin, whose voting record earned them the NRA's "top rating," have backed off their "pro-gun" positions and declared that "everything must be on the table" for legislative debate. The 31 pro-gun senators have not spoken since Friday's tragedy, signaling the possibility that some of them might be changing their minds on guns, too.

Lawmakers are essentially being asked to consider an updated version of the 1994 assault weapons ban. On Sunday, Feinstein promised the legislation "will ban the sale, the transfer, the importation and the possession" of assault weapons and ban high-capacity magazines as well as "clips of more than ten bullets."

Biden will likely support a new ban on assault weapons and push for improvements. His 2007 Crime Control and Prevention Act would not only have renewed the ban but required background checks for all gun purchases, closing the "gun show loophole.'" Biden has also called on Congress to address the relationship of mental illness to violence in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings.

Was your gun banned?

The president cautioned Americans Sunday, saying "no single law, no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world, or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society. But that can't be an excuse for inaction. Surely, we can do better than this."

In his first term, however, Obama practiced a policy of appeasement, failing to block the expansion of gun rights or promote gun control. To ensure Congress passes tough, comprehensive gun control laws rather than settling for a watered-down version, as with health care, Obama must let Biden lead.

Why? Biden has distinguished himself as an adroit and effective statesman in both the legislative and the executive branches. The former six-term senator has a deft touch with moderate and conservative counterparts: in 2008, he eulogized Strom Thurmond. As vice president, he has spearheaded the implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Moreover, Biden has a particular passion for protecting students and educators. His wife, Jill Biden, has been teaching for more than 30 years.

The deaths of 20 first-graders and six adults compel all Americans as sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, uncles and aunts, to consult their moral compasses. Legislators face a greater responsibility: a moral imperative to pass any legislation that could possibly prevent a future Newtown, Aurora, Oak Creek or Blacksburg.

Opinion: Gun violence is a national security issue

As Obama ministers to the American people and offers words of comfort, Biden must move lawmakers to action. In 1994, Biden warned his colleagues, "we simply can't let the gun lobby deny to the American people the vital benefits in this bill." Biden must once more appeal to Congress to enact gun control. If anyone can succeed in those chambers, it's Joe Biden.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.

Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Rebecca Buckwalter-Poza

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Blizzard warning issued for large swath of Midwest

Drivers in Colorado contend with heavy snow Wednesday.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: 156-mile stretch of freeway closed in Colorado


• 23-car pileup in Texas dust storm kills one, injures 17


• Heavy snow, high winds stretch from Colorado to Wisconsin in season's first blizzard


• Storm to crawl from Midwest to New England by Friday

(CNN) -- People traveling early for Christmas in the center of the country will be dashing through the snow and the rain and the wind.

The first major storm of the season has prompted the National Weather Service to issue a blizzard warning for a huge swath of the Midwest stretching from eastern Colorado to Wisconsin's Lake Michigan shoreline, including virtually all of Iowa. The declaration warns of snow accumulations of up to 12 inches, complemented by 25- to 35-mph winds that will occasionally gust to 45 to 50 mph.

A 156-mile stretch of Interstate Highway 70 between Denver and the Kansas state line was closed in both directions for a time Wednesday. The westbound side reopened about 7 p.m. MT, but the eastbound lanes remained closed.

Cheyenne Wells, in east-central Colorado, reported a 67-mph wind gust with zero visibility just after 2 p.m. MT, CNN meteorologist Sean Morris said. U.S. Highway 385 was closed for 65 miles in the Cheyenne Wells region, Colorado's Department of Transportation reported.

"Most of the storm is on its way out across the state, except for the Eastern Plains, where there are still high winds, blizzard conditions, and highway closures," the department's Facebook page said.

"Whiteout conditions are likely and travel could become impossible" Wednesday night and into Thursday, the service's Omaha, Nebraska, office warned.

Is the storm hitting you? Send images to iReport

"Far southeast Nebraska and extreme southwest Iowa could see rain or a wintry mix for several hours yet this evening, so blizzard conditions may not develop over that area until mid-evening or later," the service said.

Airlines were reporting relatively few cancellations or delays in areas affected by the storm Wednesday night, but that could change overnight.

The storm will race into western Illinois, the weather service said. Rain will quickly change over to snow as the storm advances northeast, with the heaviest snow occurring overnight.

"Snow drifts several feet deep will be possible given the strong winds," the blizzard warning states.

At least 17 people were sent to hospitals near Lubbock, Texas, after a 23-vehicle chain-reaction crash on Interstate Highway 27 north of New Deal, Texas, state safety officials told CNN. There was at least one fatality, said Clinton Thetford, emergency management coordinator of Lubbock County. A stretch of the freeway in Lubbock County remains closed indefinitely.

Wrapping around the blizzard warning on the north, south and east is a winter storm warning, which will be no picnic either. The winds won't be quite as strong, but residents should expect a strong dose of rain, sleet and snow, with a few hail-packing thunderstorms thrown in for good measure.

A winter weather advisory is in effect for the Indiana-Ohio-Michigan tri-state area, as well as central Missouri and Kansas.

The "intense cyclone" will crawl across the Great Lakes region Thursday and slog into northern New England by Friday evening, the National Weather Service predicted.

Dodging the heavy precipitation but not the high winds is an area from western Texas and eastern New Mexico through the Oklahoma Panhandle and into southwest Kansas.

Much of the Southwest and Mississippi Valley is extremely dry, and the high winds have kicked up blinding dust near Lubbock, Texas.

CNN's Carma Hassan and Joe Sutton contributed to this report.

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Like many other tragedies, scammers stalk Newtown

NEWTOWN, Conn. The family of Noah Pozner was mourning the 6-year-old, killed in the Newtown school massacre, when outrage compounded their sorrow.

Someone they didn't know was soliciting donations in Noah's memory, claiming that they'd send any cards, packages and money collected to his parents and siblings. An official-looking website had been set up, with Noah's name as the address, even including petitions on gun control.

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Victims of Conn. school shooting

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Newtown, Conn., memorial vigil

Noah's uncle, Alexis Haller, called on law enforcement authorities to seek out "these despicable people."

"These scammers," he said, "are stealing from the families of victims of this horrible tragedy."

It's a problem as familiar as it is disturbing. Tragedy strikes — be it a natural disaster, a gunman's rampage or a terrorist attack — and scam artists move in.

It happened after 9/11. It happened after Columbine. It happened after Hurricane Katrina. And after this summer's movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colo.

Sometimes fraud takes the form of bogus charities asking for donations that never get sent to victims. Natural disasters bring another dimension: Scammers try to get government relief money they're not eligible for.

"It's abominable," said Ken Berger, president and CEO of Charity Navigator, which evaluates the performance of charities. "It's just the lowest kind of thievery."

Noah Pozner's relatives found out about one bogus solicitation when a friend received an email asking for money for the family. Poorly punctuated, it gave details about Noah, his funeral and his family. It directed people to send donations to an address in the Bronx, one that the Pozners had never heard of.

It listed a New York City phone number to text with questions about how to donate. When a reporter texted that number Wednesday, a reply came advising the donation go to the United Way.

The Pozner family had the noahpozner.com website transferred to its ownership. Victoria Haller, Noah's aunt, emailed the person who had originally registered the name. The person, who went by the name Jason Martin, wrote back that he'd meant "to somehow honor Noah and help promote a safer gun culture. I had no ill intentions I assure you."

Alexis Haller said the experience "should serve as a warning signal to other victims' families. We urge people to watch out for these frauds on social media sites."

Consumer groups, state attorneys general and law enforcement authorities call for caution about unsolicited requests for donations, by phone or email. They tell people to be wary of callers who don't want to answer questions about their organization, who won't take "no" for an answer, or who convey what seems to be an unreasonable sense of urgency.

"This is a time of mourning for the people of Newtown and for our entire state," Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen said in a statement this week. "Unfortunately, it's also a time when bad actors may seek to exploit those coping with this tragedy."

But scam artists know that calamity is fertile ground for profit, watered by the goodwill of strangers who want to help and may not be familiar with the cause or the people they're sending money to.

After the shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., scammers asked for credit card donations for victims' families. After the 9/11 attacks, the North American Securities Administrators Association warned investors to be wary of Internet postings encouraging them to invest in supposed anti-terrorist technologies.

In 2006, the FBI warned about an email widely circulated after the Sago, W.Va., mine explosion, which claimed to be from a doctor treating one of the survivors and asking for donations to cover medical bills.

"As was learned after the tragic events of 9/11/01, the tsunami disaster, and more recently with Hurricane Katrina, unscrupulous cyber criminals have shown the desire and means to exploit human emotion by attempting to defraud the public when they are perceived to be most vulnerable," the FBI said at the time.

This fall, the police in Aurora, Colo., accused a local woman of trying to profit off the deadly movie theater rampage by a gunman who killed 12 people. The woman told people that she was the caretaker for a little girl named Kadence, whose mother had died in the shooting. The police said the child was made up. The scam unraveled when a donor got a phone call from what seemed to be a woman imitating a child's voice.

When the government doled out disaster aid after Hurricane Katrina, scammers asked for money to rebuild houses they never lived in or to pay benefits for relatives who never existed.

The government later set up the National Center for Disaster Fraud to try to root out such scams in the federal relief programs administered after Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. It has since expanded its mandate to other disasters.

The cases brought since then by the Justice Department sketch a colorful picture of fraud:

— A woman who filed for small-business disaster benefits after the 2010 Gulf Coast oil spill, even though she'd sold the business before the accident.

— A judge and a commissioner in Texas who, after Hurricane Ike, were accused of awarding debris removal contracts to a company in return for kickbacks. The judge also commandeered a 155-kilowatt generator meant for the county to power his convenience store, according to the government.

— A pastor who submitted inflated claims to a government-funded program that reimbursed groups sheltering Hurricane Katrina evacuees.

Bob Webster, spokesman for the NASAA, knows the sad pattern.

"We know cons try to cash in on headlines, and any who would even think about stooping to capitalize on the tragedy in Newtown are the lowest of the low," he said.

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Virginia Tech mom: Ignore gun lobby

Newtown funerals: A community says goodbye

Newtown funerals: A community says goodbye

Newtown funerals: A community says goodbye

Newtown funerals: A community says goodbye

Newtown funerals: A community says goodbye

Newtown funerals: A community says goodbye

Newtown funerals: A community says goodbye

Newtown funerals: A community says goodbye

Newtown funerals: A community says goodbye

Newtown funerals: A community says goodbye

Newtown funerals: A community says goodbye

Newtown funerals: A community says goodbye

Newtown funerals: A community says goodbye

Newtown funerals: A community says goodbye

Newtown funerals: A community says goodbye

Newtown funerals: A community says goodbye

Newtown funerals: A community says goodbye

Newtown funerals: A community says goodbye

Newtown funerals: A community says goodbye

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Lori Haas: The magnitude of the Newtown shooting shocked me


• Haas: It reminds me of when my daughter was injured in the Virginia Tech shooting


• She says our elected leaders have abandoned all sense of right and wrong


• Haas: How many victims would be alive today if leaders took their responsibilities to heart?

Editor's note: Lori Haas lives in Richmond, Virginia. After her daughter Emily was shot and injured at the Virginia Tech massacre, she became involved in gun violence prevention efforts, working for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence and Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

(CNN) -- Sitting in front of the TV on Friday, I watched in horror as the death toll climbed with each news report coming in on the mass shooting in an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. The magnitude of the shooting shocked me.

It also took me back to five years ago, when I received a phone call on a blustery April morning that changed my life forever. I was out shopping, and my cell phone had rung several times, but I had chosen to ignore the calls. Luckily, I answered the third call, which came in at 10:38 a.m. My daughter Emily, then a sophomore at Virginia Tech, was on the phone. She said, "Mommy, I've been shot."

Clutching the phone, my knees buckling, I tried to make sense of what I was hearing. Emily quickly handed the phone to the EMT who had triaged her and was waiting with her for an ambulance. The EMT assured me that Emily was going to be fine, that there were very seriously wounded students that needed to be transported immediately and she was waiting with Emily for the next ambulance. She also shared that the situation on campus was "very bad."

Lori Haas

The world soon knew how bad it was. The incident at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007, remains the worst mass shooting in U.S. history in terms of casualties. Thirty-two students and school staff were killed that morning by a dangerously mentally ill student with guns, including high-capacity magazines. The killer should have been prevented from purchasing firearms, but when he purchased his weapons, his mental health records were not in the FBI database against which background checks are run. He used 30-round magazines, which had been outlawed up until 2004, when Congress let the Assault Weapons Ban expire.

We were one of the lucky families -- our daughter survived, when so many others did not. Eleven of the 17 students in her classroom were killed, along with her professor. A classmate dialed 911 when they first heard the shooter, but dropped his cell phone when almost immediately, the killer burst into the classroom and began spraying bullets at everyone. Emily reached over and picked up the phone and kept the dispatcher on the phone during the entire ordeal by hiding the phone. Law enforcement repeatedly told me how brave Emily was to keep them on the line.

Law enforcement has also told me that the single most effective thing we can do to prevent gun violence would be to require all purchasers for all gun sales to undergo a background check. Then-Gov. Tim Kaine appointed a panel of experts to investigate all aspects of the massacre and report back their recommendations. Recommendation VI-2 stated, "Virginia should require background checks for all firearms sales." Sadly, that hasn't happened, and gun deaths now outpace motor vehicle deaths in my state.

America has witnessed mass shooting tragedies grow in frequency in the last five years to the point that, according to one report, there have been 16 mass shootings between February 22, 2012, and December 14, 2012, leaving over 80 dead and many injured. I can't help but ache with sorrow, anguish and concern for all those families suffering the sheer agony that I saw the families of the 32 killed at Virginia Tech suffer.

And I can't help but be angered at the cowardly behavior from our elected leaders. They have abandoned all sense of right and wrong, despite epidemic deaths from guns, and ignored their duty not only to keep our communities safe from gun violence, but to keep our children safe as well.

When I think of those killed -- over 60,000 Americans have been murdered with guns since the shooting at Virginia Tech -- I have to wonder how many might be alive today if our elected leaders had taken to heart their responsibilities.

Why is it that our elected leaders have not only ignored the pleas of survivors and family members of victims of gun violence, but those of our public safety officials -- police and law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line day in and day out -- only to listen to the gun lobby when determining public safety policy? What sense can that make when the gun lobby's sole purpose is to sell as many firearms as possible to make as much money as possible?

We have come to a time when many say the unimaginable has happened again -- the mass shooting in the Newtown school where 26 people were killed, including 20 children. It is sheer senselessness. My heart goes out with the utmost compassion to the families suffering so terribly from Friday's massacre.

For those whose loved ones have been killed, there is no real closure; there are permanent holes in their hearts. Time may lend a helping hand to healing, but their lives have been changed irrevocably. As my friend Lynnette, whose son was murdered in the Virginia Tech shooting, laments, "There is no ending to the heartache." I am brought to tears thinking of all we have seen, all we have not done and all we have let die.

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Lori Haas.

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