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.

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

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Baseball: Ichiro Suzuki inks new 2-year deal with NY Yankees

NEW YORK: Ichiro Suzuki signed a two-year contract with the New York Yankees, giving the Japanese outfielder a chance to crack 3,000 career Major League Baseball hits while wearing Yankee pinstripes.

The deal, worth a reported $13 million, allows the Yankees to keep a 39-year-old standout who has been a 10-time All-Star in 12 seasons since coming from Japan. He was obtained by the Yankees from the Seattle Mariners last July.

"The Yankees are the kind of team that I always envisioned being a part of," Suzuki said on Wednesday. "Everyone in the world of competition has a strong desire to win, but the Yankees also have an atmosphere where losing is not an option.

"These two observations may sound similar, but I believe it is a rarity to find both co-existing in the same organization."

"I believe the Yankees organization appreciates that there is a difference between a 39-year-old who has played relying only on talent, and a 39-year-old who has prepared, practiced, and thought thoroughly through many experiences for their craft.

"I am very thankful and I will do my best to deliver on their expectations."

Suzuki hit .322 with five home runs and 27 runs batted in over 67 games for New York last season and overall batted .283 with 77 runs scored, 28 doubles, six triples, nine homers, 55 runs batted in and 29 stolen bases in 162 games.

By recording base hits in his first 12 games with the Yankees, Suzuki matched a team record for the longest hit streak to begin a Yankees career with Don Slaught's 1988 effort.

Suzuki, who is expected to replace free agent Nick Swisher as the Yankees' starting right-fielder, has 2,606 hits in his North American career, giving him a chance to reach the 3,000 milestone with the Yankees.

Since leaving Japan after a nine-year career in the Pacific League with three Most Valuable Player awards, Suzuki has batted .322 in Major League Baseball with two batting titles.

He was the 2001 American League Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year with the Mariners.

- AFP/al

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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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Hundreds arrested in China over doomsday rumors

Farmer Liu Qiyuan poses among survival pods that he built and has also dubbed 'Noah's Arc', in a yard at his home in the village of Qiantun, Hebei province, south of Beijing on December 11, 2012. Inspired by the apocalyptic Hollywood movie '2012' and the 2004 Asian tsunami, Liu hopes that his creations consisting of a fibreglass shell around a steel frame will be adopted by government departments and international organisations for use in the event of tsunamis and earthquakes. Liu has built seven pods which are able to float on water, some of which have their own propulsion. The airtight spheres with varying interiors contain oxygen tanks and seatbelts with space for around 14 people, and are designed to remain upright when in water. / Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images

BEIJING Chinese police have detained more than 500 people from a fringe Christian group for spreading rumors about the world's impending end, state media reported Tuesday.

In western China's Qinghai province alone, police arrested more than 400 members from the religious cult group, state-run China Central Television said Tuesday.

Police seized leaflets, video discs, books and other apocalyptic materials in the recent arrests of more than 500 people across eight provinces and regions, from the prosperous east coast to less developed western China, state media reports said.

The detentions come ahead of Friday, Dec. 21 - a date some say the Mayans prophesized would be the end of the world and which was the subject of the apocalyptic movie "2012."

Those detained are reported to be members of the group Almighty God, which is also called Eastern Lightning, after a phrase from the Bible's Book of Matthew. Widely regarded as a heretical Christian sect, the group preaches that Jesus has reappeared as a woman in central China. It has been accused of targeting Christians, kidnapping and beating them to force conversions.

11 Photos

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

Chinese society has been in tumult as decades of rapid free-market economic growth discredit communist ideology, loosen social controls and pull hundreds of millions from the countryside to the cities. Into the spiritual void have rushed traditional Buddhist groups and Daoist practices, as well as evangelical Christian churches and other spiritual groups, some with unorthodox and apocalyptic visions.

Eastern Lightning first appeared around 20 years ago, and the official Xinhua News Agency said that its members had "recently latched on to the Mayan doomsday prophesy to predict that the sun will not shine and electricity will not work for three days beginning on Dec. 21."

A public notice on the web site of Qinghai provincial government said local police are waging a "severe crackdown" on the group described as a cult with "strong political penchants." The government urged the public to inform the police of any illegal propaganda, gathering and preaching by the group.

The CCTV report called the group a cult and accused it of attacking the party and the government, though it did not give any specifics.

The state-run Huashang website last week, citing local authorities, reported that the group is urging followers to "exterminate the great red dragon" - a reference to the Communist Party - "and found a country under the rule of Almighty God."

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Obama Invokes Newtown on 'Cliff' Deal

Invoking the somber aftermath of the school massacre in Newtown, Conn., President Obama today appealed to congressional Republicans to embrace a standing "fair deal" on taxes and spending that would avert the fiscal cliff in 13 days.

"If there's one thing we should have after this week, it should be a sense of perspective about what's important," Obama said at a midday news conference.

"I would like to think that members of that [Republican] caucus would say to themselves, 'You know what? We disagree with the president on a whole bunch of things,'" he said. "'But right now what the country needs is for us to compromise.'"

House Speaker John Boehner's response: "Get serious."

Boehner announced at a 52-second news conference that the House will vote Thursday to approve a "plan B" to a broad White House deal -- and authorize simply extending current tax rates for people earning less than $1 million a year and little more.

"Then, the president will have a decision to make," the Ohio Republican said. "He can call on Senate Democrats to pass that bill or he could be responsible for the largest tax increase in American history."

Fiscal Cliff Negotiations: Trying to Make a Deal Watch Video

House Speaker John Boehner Proposes 'Plan B' on Taxes Watch Video

'Fiscal Cliff' Negotiations: Deal Might Be Within Reach Watch Video

Unless Congress acts by Dec. 31, every American will face higher income tax rates and government programs will get hit with deep automatic cuts starting in 2013.

Obama and Boehner have been inching closer to a deal on tax hikes and spending cuts to help reduce the deficit. But they have not yet had a breakthrough on a deal.

Obama's latest plan would raise $1.2 trillion in new tax revenue over 10 years, largely through higher tax rates on incomes above $400,000. He also proposes roughly $930 billion in spending cuts, including new limits on entitlement spending, such as slower annual cost-of-living increases for Social Security beneficiaries.

Boehner has agreed to $1 trillion in new tax revenue, with a tax rate hike for households earning over $1 million. He is seeking more than $1 trillion in spending cuts, with significant changes to Medicare and Social Security.

The president said today that he remains "optimistic" about reaching a broad compromise by Christmas because both sides are "pretty close," a sentiment that has been publicly shared by Boehner.

But the speaker's backup plan has, at least temporarily, stymied talks, with no reported contact between the sides since Monday.

"The speaker should return to the negotiating table with the president because if he does I firmly believe we can have an agreement before Christmas," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., a White House ally.

Schumer said Obama and Boehner are "not that far apart" in the negotiations.

"If they were to come to an agreement by Friday, they could write this stuff over the Christmas break and then we'd have to come back before the New Year and pass it," Schumer said.

Obama said he is "open to conversations" and planned to reach out to congressional leaders over the next few days to try to nudge Republicans to accept a "fair deal."

"At some point, there's got to be, I think, a recognition on the part of my Republican friends that -- you know, take the deal," he told reporters.

"They keep on finding ways to say no, as opposed to finding ways to say yes," Obama added. "At some point, you know, they've got take me out of it and think about their voters and think about what's best for the country."

Read More..

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.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.

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

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Temasek raises stake in Olam

SINGAPORE: Temasek Holdings has raised its stake in commodity trader Olam International to 17 percent from 16.3 percent.

In a filing with the Singapore Exchange, Olam said Temasek had bought 200,000 shares for S$293,000 from the open market on Tuesday through its investment vehicle Aranda Investments.

In an emailed comment to Channel NewsAsia, a Temasek spokesperson said: "We have invested in Olam over several years. In our judgement, the company represents a reasonably attractive investment over the long term and we are pleased to have the opportunity to add to our stake."

Earlier this month, Olam said Temasek is backing its rights issue of bonds and warrants to raise as much as US$1.2 billion.

This could potentially translate to the investment firm owning as much as 29 percent of Olam if it exercises all the warrants in 2016 at the earliest.

Kewalram Chanrai Group, Olam's largest investor with nearly a 20 percent stake, has also said it will back the issue.

Olam has been the target of short-seller Carson Block and his research firm Muddy Waters, which questioned the company's allegedly flawed accounting standards that they claimed masked its debts.

- CNA/al

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Benghazi investigation finds 'failures' at State Department

Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya

Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya

Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya

Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya

Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya

Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya

Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya

Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya

Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya

Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya

Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya

Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya

Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya

Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya

Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya

Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya

Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya

Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya

Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya

Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya

Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya

Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The report cites "management deficiencies" at high levels of the State Department


• It concludes "there was no protest prior to the attacks" on September 11


• Staffing for the Bureau of Diplomatic Security was "inadequate," report says

Washington (CNN) -- An independent review of the September 11 attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi released Tuesday cited "systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies" at the State Department.

The attacks killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens.

The failures resulted in a security plan "that was inadequate for Benghazi and grossly inadequate to deal with the attack that took place," the 39-page, unclassified version of the report concluded.

Read the independent panel's full report

Veteran diplomat Thomas Pickering and former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, both members of the review board, are scheduled to brief members of the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations committees in private on Wednesday.

The board cited a lack of resources as at least partly to blame.

"The solution requires a more serious and sustained commitment from Congress to support State Department needs," it said.

The board found that Washington tended "to overemphasize the positive impact of physical security upgrades ... while generally failing to meet Benghazi's repeated requests" to beef up personnel.

The board completed its investigation this week and sent a copy Monday to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said in letters to the heads of those committees that she accepted every one of its 24 recommendations. They include strengthening security, adding fire-safety precautions and improving intelligence collection in high-threat areas.

The report said "there was no protest prior to the attacks," which it described as "unanticipated in their scale and intensity."

It also cited the Bureau of Diplomatic Security staff as "inadequate" in Benghazi on the day of the attack and in the months and weeks leading up to it, "despite repeated requests from Special Mission Benghazi and Embassy Tripoli for additional staffing."

The report said there had been a "lack of transparency, responsiveness, and leadership at the senior levels" in Washington, Tripoli and Benghazi.

"Security in Benghazi was not recognized and implemented as a 'shared responsibility' by the bureaus in Washington charged with supporting the post, resulting in stove-piped discussions and decisions on policy and security," it said. "That said, Embassy Tripoli did not demonstrate strong and sustained advocacy with Washington for increased security for Special Mission Benghazi."

The report said the short-term nature of the mission's staff, many of whom were inexperienced U.S. personnel, "resulted in diminished institutional knowledge, continuity and mission capacity."

The mission was also "severely under-resourced with regard to certain needed security equipment," it said.

It singled out for criticism the dependence on "poorly skilled" members of the Libyan February 17 Martyrs' Brigade and unarmed local guards who were supposed to provide security. It noted that, at the time of Stevens' visit, militia members "had stopped accompanying Special Mission vehicle movements in protest over salary and working hours."

Though it said there had been no specific, credible threats on the day of the attack, the significance of the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001 had led Stevens to decide to hold meetings on the compound on September 11 of this year.

But security systems and the Libyan response "fell short" when the compound came was penetrated "by dozens of armed attackers."

The report offers a detailed description of what happened that night. It said Libyan mission guards were not present, local militia fled their posts and "there simply was not enough time for armed U.S. military assets to have made a difference."

The board said it could not determine how a gate at the compound was breached, "but the speed with which attackers entered raised the possibility" that the guards had left it open.

Eric Boswell, assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security, and Charlene Lamb, deputy assistant secretary of state for international programs, oversaw decisions on security at the diplomatic outpost. Lamb testified before Congress about the security precautions. Documents show Lamb denied repeated requests for additional security in Libya.

Despite all the criticism, the board found no U.S. government employee had engaged in misconduct or ignored responsibilities and did not recommend any individual be disciplined.

Clinton, who is recovering from a stomach virus and concussion, ordered the review in the aftermath of the attack. Such reports are mandated by Congress when Americans working on behalf of the U.S. government are killed overseas.

State Department: Clinton not dodging Benghazi hearings

A notice sent to State Department employees said the implementation team had met Tuesday and would continue to do so regularly to carry out the board's recommendations.

The politics surrounding the events that led to the report have claimed one political casualty, with Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, last week pulling her name from consideration to succeed Clinton. Some Republican senators had said they would put a hold on her nomination if President Barack Obama had submitted it, based on comments Rice made in the days after the attack.

In place of Clinton, Deputy Secretaries of State William Burns and Thomas Nides will testify before the House and Senate committees Thursday.

Read more: Benghazi attack back in the spotlight

Read Clinton's letter to the Committee on Foreign Affairs chairman

Read Clinton's letter to Sen. John Kerry

Read More..

Texas school district encourages armed teachers for protection

HARROLD, Texas -- There's at least one school that welcome firearms to class.

It believes nothing makes a school safer than teachers who are armed,

The Harrold Independent School District is one building with 103 students. It's 20 minutes away from the nearest sheriff's station. Superintendent David Thweatt created what he calls a "guardian plan" after the attack at Virginia Tech.

"These people that go in and do these horrible acts, they're evil. But they're not that crazy -- they always know where they are going to get resistance," Thweatt said.

NRA promises "meaningful contributions" to avert another Newtown
The Newtown shootings, as they happened
Complete Coverage: Elementary School Rampage

Teachers and administrators here carry concealed handguns. They won't say how many faculty members are armed. They get extra training, but the district would not give us details.

Some people are horrified when he starts talking about putting guns in schools with children, but Thweatt said it's important to be safe.

"Sure, but it's a pretty horrific thing that happened the other day." Thweatt said. "And quite a few people are not horrified. Quite a few people we have in our district, since we have a high-transfer district, people bring their students to us for that protection."

Texas law allows concealed weapons in schools with a district's permission. Harrold was the first district to do it. A similar proposal was vetoed by Michigan's governor Tuesday.

Thweatt says allowing the firearms into the school will dissuade anyone who wants to hurt the kids.

"That's the bottom line," he said.

Since the shootings in Connecticut, Superintendent Thweatt has gotten calls from districts around the state and as far away as Missouri from school administrators asking whether they might be able to implement similar plans.

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Newtown Shooting: Bushmaster Under Fire

When the private investment firm Cerberus Capital Management announced Tuesday it would unload its interest in Bushmaster – the company that built the weapon used in last week's mass murder of 20 Connecticut first graders -- it marked the beginning of what experts say is likely to be a challenging period for the North Carolina-based weapons manufacturer.

"They are looking at a taint on their brand and looking at a marketplace that could change dramatically with respect to their weapon," said Chris Lehane, a crisis public relations expert who worked in the Clinton White House. "To me the fact that Cerberus is pulling out is a pretty significant defining moment."

For years, Bushmaster has been marketing itself to testosterone-fueled male customers, issuing "man cards" to customers who want to be "card carrying men." Now, Lehane and others said the company is facing the prospect of being branded the weapon of choice for mass killers. The Newtown, Connecticut shooting marked the fourth time a Bushmaster has been implicated in a mass shooting since 1999, including the Beltway sniper case that left 10 dead and three more wounded.

Cerberus announced Tuesday it wanted distance from Bushmaster, calling the murder of 20 first grade children at Sandy Hook Elementary School a "watershed event." The investment firm, which is chaired by former Vice President Dan Quayle, noted in its statement that Bushmaster may not be an investment consistent with the interests of its clients. Its investors include the pension plans of firemen, teachers, and policemen.

Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo

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Lehane said the announcement could signal a shift in the way investors view companies that make military style weapons for a civilian market.

"It reminds me of the time when tobacco began to be associated with a negative light, or the divestiture movement surrounding companies in South Africa," he said. "Where financial markets believe they are going to pay a price."

In addition, a spokesman for Cerberus Group confirmed that the father of Stephen Feinberg, the founder of Cerberus Group, lives in Newtown.

Gun control groups have also lined up to criticize the weapons manufacturer, arguing that the company was selling civilian customers a weapon clearly designed for war.

"This thing is just a killing machine," said Josh Horwitz, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. "[I]t's a weapon that can easily shoot hundreds of … In fact it's very similar to the weapon that James Holmes used to shoot up the movie theater in Aurora."

The company has not responded to phone calls seeking comment, but gun enthusiasts say the weapon's menacing appearance can appeal to civilians looking for a means to secure their homes, and its ease of use can appeal to those looking for a weapon for target shooting.

"The [assault rifle] platform is the most popular in the country," said Frank Cornwall, a firearms instructor in Connecticut. "Civilians have always bought similar type arms to the military. And this is a very versatile platform. Quite a popular hunting and target shooting gun."

Phillip Stutts, a crisis management consultant who worked for President George W. Bush, said he has been surprised by the silence of the gun manufacturer.

"Bushmaster doesn't have to take responsibility for this tragedy, but they have a responsibility to respond to this tragedy," he said. "And they haven't. They have to get out in front of this. It needs to be corrected ASAP."

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