The Lede Blog: Updates on Connecticut Shooting Aftermath

Funerals or wakes were to be held on Thursday for at least six victims of Friday’s school shooting in Newtown, Conn., as Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. prepared to visit Newtown in the afternoon to meet with investigators and first responders. In Washington, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. is meeting with law enforcement officials to discuss gun restrictions after President Obama asked him...

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Heart joins select class with Rock Hall induction

NEW YORK (AP) — The journey to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame can be a long and winding road for some acts. For Heart, it took more than a decade, and sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson admitted they were losing hope."(The) running joke in the band was (we) would never get in," Ann said.But all that changed when the group made the class of 2013, announced this month."Well, it just goes to show you that...

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U.N. Suspends Polio Campaign in Pakistan After Killings of Workers

B.K. Bangash/Associated PressA Pakistani woman administered polio vaccine to an infant on Wednesday in the slums of Islamabad. Militants have killed nine polio workers this week. LAHORE, Pakistan — The front-line heroes of Pakistan’s war on polio are its volunteers: young women who tread fearlessly from door to door, in slums and highland villages, administering precious drops of vaccine to children...

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Tool Kit: Equipment for the Mayan Apocalypse, or a Lesser Emergency

We may have only a few hours to live. On Friday, the Mayan calendar will come to an end, leading some to predict that the world will spiral into chaos. It could be the end of days. Locusts could swarm the earth, destroying crops. Tornadoes the size of Florida could shred Europe. Thousand-foot waves could crash over Idaho. Zombies! Flesh-eating viruses, human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together....

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Obama to Give Congress Plan on Gun Control Within Weeks

WASHINGTON — President Obama declared Wednesday that he would make gun control a “central issue” as he opens a second term, submitting broad new gun control proposals to Congress no later than January and committing the power of his office to overcoming political opposition in the wake of last week’s school massacre. Luke Sharrett for The New York TimesPresident Obama and Vice President...

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Shooting renews argument over video-game violence

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the days since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., a shell-shocked nation has looked for reasons. The list of culprits include easy access to guns, a strained mental-health system and the “culture of violence” — the entertainment industry’s embrace of violence in movies, TV shows and, especially, video games.“The violence in the entertainment culture...

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Irish Government Set to Allow Abortion in Rare Cases

DUBLIN — The Irish government said Tuesday that it was preparing to allow abortion under limited circumstances in an effort to comply with demands by the European Court of Human Rights to clarify the country’s legal position on the issue. Cathal Mcnaughton/ReutersA vigil was held in Dublin on Monday in memory of Dr. Savita Halappanavar, a 31-year-old dentist who died after being...

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The Lede Blog: The Lede: Latest Updates

Four days after the school shooting in Connecticut took the lives of 20 children and 6 staff members, classes resumed at most Newtown schools on Tuesday. One school unexpectedly stayed closed after a threat. Sandy Hook Elementary, the scene of the killings, is expected to remain classified a crime scene for weeks, possibly months, but an unused school in a nearby town is being readied for Sandy Hook’s...

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Merry Christmas, America-Haters?

When TNT was preparing its annual special “Christmas in Washington” with the president of the United States, you’d think the last star musician they would consider to join the official caroling would be Psy, the South Korean rapper. What on Earth is Christmasy about this man’s invisible-horse-riding dance to his dorky disco-rap hit “Gangnam Style”? It’s not exactly the natural flip-side to “O Holy...

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Who was Gossip Girl? The series finale told all

NEW YORK (AP) — "Gossip Girl" ended its six-season run with a major reveal: The identity of its tattle-tale blogger.Known only as Gossip Girl and given narrative voice by actress Kristen Bell, she turned out to be a he. The Monday night finale revealed Gossip Girl was secretly the work of character Dan Humphrey.Dan, played by Penn Badgley, was a budding poet and a student at Manhattan's posh St. Jude's...

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